Another Nakama IV
by QPython
Summary: There's another pirate on board the Going Merry. Follow the Straw Hats as they challenge the World Government and the best they have to offer in order to protect their crew and pursue their dreams. ABANDONED SHIP.
1. Long Adventure

**Another Nakama IV**

**Disclaimer:** The following is a non-profit fanfic. One Piece and all the related characters are owned by Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV, Shueisha, Shonnan Jump Manga and Eiichiro Oda. QPython only owns the original characters that he created for this story.'

**Summary:** There's another pirate on board the Going Merry. Follow the Straw Hats as they challenge the World Government and the best they have to offer in order to protect their crew and pursue their dreams.

**Rating:** T

**Long Adventure:**

**-x-**

Night had fallen over the Grand Line and the moon shined down on the island of Jaya where a loud commotion was emanating from Mock Town.

"What's going on?" Lily the former arm candy of the Bellamy Pirates asked as she pushed through the crowd.

Lily had quit the crew after the Straw Hats' last encounter with the Bellamy Pirates but her disheveled appearance shown that she hadn't gotten used to living without the luxury of being a Bellamy Pirate. Her blonde hair which had previously been perfectly groomed was now dirty and messy. Lily's fancy fur coat was dirty and worn, her fancy white blouse was still stained from when Nami threw her through a table during their bar fight. Lily may have left the crew but it had only been a full week and her appearance had already deteriorated to the point where she now looked like a slob.

Lily worked her way through the crowd and eventually found her former crewmates Eddy, Rivers, Hewitt, Ross and Muret standing together.

"What's going on?" Lily asked again.

"Hmph," Muret scoffed and turned her nose up at her former crewmate's horrible appearance.

"Tell me!" Lily insisted.

"Bellamy and Sarquiss are fighting each other…" Rivers stated.

Bellamy and Sarquiss stood in the middle of the street surrounded by the crowd. Bellamy's arm had been cut and was freely bleeding and Sarquiss' big kukri blade was coated in blood. It was a clear sign that Sarquiss had been the one responsible for Bellamy's wound.

But the fact that the two pirates were staring at each other in complete and utter horror made it clear that this was something that they didn't wantto do.

"I can see that," Lily stated, "But _why_? Isn't someone gonna stop them?"

"PLEASE!" Sarquiss screamed. "NO MORE! WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME DO THIS?"

"I… I've never seen Sarquiss plead like that," Lily said as she stared at her ex-boyfriend

"'**Why' you ask?" **came a voice. **"Why am I making you?" **The crowd turned and saw a man seated on a barrel which gave him a perfect view of the 'fight'.

The man was instantly recognizable. Tall, tan and blond dressed in flamboyant clothing which included an unmistakable pink feathered coat.

"Sarquiss, Bellamy," the man continued, "I'm making you do this because you've made a mockery of this symbol." The pink-clad man turned and slapped the white Jolly Roger on the wall behind him. It wasn't normal skull and crossbones, it was a smiley face with a line going through it. It was the same symbol that Sarquiss had tattooed on his chest and the same symbol that Bellamy practically worshipped. It was the mark of the Don Quixote Pirates.

"That… that's Doflamingo," Eddy realized as everyone stared at the man in shock.

"Don Quixote Doflamingo… the Warlord?" Muret questioned.

"His bounty used to be over three hundred million," Rivers stated.

"What's he doing here?" Hewitt wondered.

"Fuffuffuffu," Doflamingo chuckled, "Does the Sky Island exist or not? Is the legendary City of Gold real or not? The truth doesn't really matter now, does it? You play the opposing sides off each other to twist them to your will. That's what I told you, right Bellamy?"

"He's here to punish them," Lily realized.

"You've really let me down," Doflamingo said, "And I've got zero tolerance for useless punks like you." Doflamingo raised his hand and flicked his fingers like a puppet master.

"No! Not again!" Sarquiss cried as he involuntarily raised his knife up over his head. "My body's moving… on its own… I can't control it!"

"…" Bellamy stared silently at his First Mate and stood rooted in place.

"PLEASE! NO!" Sarquiss hollered as he swung his big knife down at his Captain.

**SLISH! **Sarquiss slashed Bellamy across the chest and he crashed to the ground.

"BELLAMY!" Eddy, Rivers, and Hewitt shouted in alarm.

"Uugghh… Please…" Bellamy groaned. He was already splayed out on the ground so it didn't take much for him to push himself up onto his hands and knees in a proper groveling position. "Just give me one more chance to set things right… I swear we'll follow your every command!"

"Bellamy!" Rivers gasped.

"Let it go Bellamy!" Eddy advised.

"I might have lost but I never once acted against your principles," Bellamy insisted. "I swear on your symbol! Please! That's just how I do things! I had to wipe out those weaklings and their foolish beliefs before they could reach you. Maybe then I could someday reach your level."

Bellamy's eyes were locked on the ground. He was so caught up with his plea that he didn't see Doflamingo flick his fingers. He didn't see Sarquiss involuntarily raise his big knife over his head for another attack.

Lily did.

"They made it, you know," she blurted out before she could stop herself.

Suddenly everyone was staring at her. Even Doflamingo.

Lily swallowed. "I went to the old man's house. They were celebrating and claimed Straw Hat reached the sky and that he was the one that rang the bell we all heard a few days ago."

"That's ridiculous," Bellamy hissed.

"FUFFUFFUFFU!" Doflamingo let out a loud laugh. He got off of his barrel and walked over to Bellamy with his signature bow-legged strut. "That sloppy wench just gave me the most wonderful idea. Bellamy, you're a worthless dog but you're still a very a loyal dog. If you want a second chance then you'll have to earn it."

"Yes, I'll do anything!" Bellamy immediately agreed.

Doflamingo's mouth stretched and formed a wide grin that nearly matched the smile on his flag. "Bellamy, I want you to go to the Sky Island and retrieve some gold from the legendary city."

Everyone in Jaya knew Bellamy's stance on the Sky Island. He insisted that it didn't exist. Doflamingo had just set Bellamy an impossible task.

"You see why this is so amusing to me, Bellamy?" Doflamingo taunted. "Either you'll fail and prove once and for all that you're just a useless punk or you'll succeed and prove to everyone that you're just an ignorant hot-headed fool. Oh, and take the sloppy wench with you. She seems to be good for a laugh."

"What… no!" Lily sputtered. Doflamingo raised his hand and flicked his fingers. Lily's legs moved against her will and dragged her out of the crowd before they gave out and she dropped to the ground behind Bellamy. "I quit! I'm not even—"

"I wasn't asking," Doflamingo cut her off.

"I'll do it," Bellamy agreed. "I'll get you your gold Doflamingo."

"Whether you do or you don't doesn't matter, Bellamy," Doflamingo announced, "Your actions don't matter. You don't matter. You're still alive simply because your new plight amuses me. But should you fail in your task, you will become expendable." Doflamingo flicked his fingers.

"NO! NO! PLEASE!" Bellamy and Lily looked back to see Sarquiss once again involuntarily raise his big knife over his head. "DOFLAMINGO! NOOOO!" 'Big Knife' Sarquiss' big knife swung down and cleaved into his own stomach. **SLISH! **

Lily was unfortunate enough to be on the ground in between Bellamy and Sarquiss. This put her in the splash zone.

**THUD! **Sarquiss hit the ground and Lily ended up covered in her ex-boyfriend's blood. The woman stared down at her blood-coated clothes and screamed in horror. "AAAAAUUUHHHH! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! AAAAAAUUUUUGGGHHHHH!"

"FUFFUFFUFFU!" Doflamingo laughed over Lily's screams. "See? She's great for a laugh!" Doflamingo turned to address the horrified crowd. "The beginning is upon us! I suggest you prepare. We're drawing closer to a new world in which only true pirates can survive. The weak should run while the still can or be swept away by the tides of time as they roll back to reveal a new era of champions! FUFFUFFUFFUFFUFFU!"

**-x-**

The sun rose the next morning and the Going Merry sailed peacefully along the water of the Grand Line.

Ricky sat at the base of the main mast with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. He now wore the cloud shirt and the beret that the White Berets had given him before they left Skypiea.

Chopper sat dutifully next to him and copied Ricky's 'meditation pose' but opened his eyes when Zoro walked over and sat down on Ricky's other side.

"Any luck?" the swordsman asked. Chopper shook his head.

"I still don't have the first clue what I'm doing," Ricky confessed as he opened his eye.

"EMERGENCY ALERT!" Usopp suddenly shouted from up in the crow's nest overhead. "UNKOWN SHIP SPOTTED AT TWELVE O' CLOCK!"

"Oh, hey! I see it!" Luffy exclaimed as he sat on the figurehead. "Are they bad guys?"

"Well, they don't have a flag," Usopp observed through his binoculars. "Or even a sail. I don't know what kind of ship it is."

The other ship could have been a pirate ship… once. It was lined in green and had a frog with sharp teeth as its figurehead. But there was no flag and no sails flying. The ship simply drifted listlessly along with the current. Almost as if its spirit had been broken.

"It's naked?" Luffy gasped. "Who would do that to their ship? What're they doing out here without sails?"

"How should I know?" Usopp snapped back. "What's even weirder, the crew is way too small for a ship that size. There's only a dozen people on the deck. And they look like they're catatonic or something. They're just sitting around in a daze."

Sure enough, the crew on the other ship looked just as broken as the ship itself.

**SPLOOOSH! **Suddenly three huge shapes broke the surface behind the Going Merry. The water fell away to reveal the huge creatures that were each ten times the size of the Going Merry. Their top halves looked like monkeys while they had the tail and fins of fish. Sea Monkeys.

"EEEP! EEEEP! EEEEP!" the three Sea Monkeys screeched.

"Oh crap," Ricky complained as he, Zoro and Chopper stood up and stared at the Sea Monkeys. "Sea Monkeys are jerks."

"Why?" Luffy asked as he joined the others and gaped at the monkeys. "I like monkeys. Those other two sea monkeys helped us get to the Sky Island."

"Yes, but those monkeys were almost part human," Ricky pointed out. "These monkeys are evil creatures of the ocean that make it their mission to sink any ship they come across."

"How do they do that?" Chopper questioned.

"EEEP! EEEEP! EEEEEP!" the Sea Monkeys cried out as they started to churn up and down in the water behind the Going Merry. The sea rose and fell along with the Sea Monkeys until they had created a massive tidal wave. **SPLOOOOOSSSHH!**

"WAAAAAH! RUN AWAY!" Luffy shouted. "FULL SPEED AHEAD!"

"We can't, there's no wind!" Ricky pointed out.

**KREK! **Nami burst out of the Galley with Sanji and Robin behind her. All three of them were wearing new outfits. Nami wore a black tank top that said 'gold' on the front and a pair of snug white pants. Sanji had ditched his usual coat and now wore a white button-up shirt and a blue tie. Robin wore black pants and a white tank top with green straps and dots across the chest.

"RAISE THE SAILS AND START PADDLING!" the Navigator shouted.

The Straw Hats scrambled and got to work. Sanji and Usopp raised the sails while Chopper retrieved the long paddles from the anchor room. Zoro and Chopper grabbed one paddle while Luffy and Ricky grabbed the other and the four of them frantically paddled the Going Merry away from the tidal wave-causing Sea Monkeys.

"Hey, what's wrong with that ship?" Sanji called out. "They're heading _towards_ the wave."

"That wave's gonna swallow them whole," Zoro noted.

"HEEYY!" Luffy called off the side of the Merry as they pulled up alongside the other ship. "WAKE UP! THERE'S A BIG WAVE FILLED WITH SEA MONKEYS! TURN AROUND!"

The crew on the other ship staggered back up. But they paid no mind to Luffy, his warning, or the giant, monkey-filled waved ahead of them and instead focused on the Going Merry.

"It's a pirate ship!" one of the crew realized.

"Everyone on your feet!" another man called out. "We've gotta raid their ship and swipe their treasure!"

"You can't tell me what to do!" a third man snapped. "You're not the captain!"

"We can't let them get away!"

"AAAHH! A GIANT WAVE!"

"READY THE CANNONS!"

"YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!"

"SOMEBODY TURN!"

"Wow… that's gotta be the worst crew ever," Luffy realized.

"There's no Captain on that ship," Ricky said from next to him. "There's no one to lead their crew so now they're helpless."

"KEEP PADDLING!" Nami yelled. "THEY WANT TO STEAL OUR TREASURE!"

Usopp and Sanji ran over and joined the others at the paddles. With six Straw Hats frantically paddling the Going Merry pulled away from the other ship and the tidal wave.

Ricky shook his head as he pumped the paddle in between Luffy and Sanji. "No Captain and they don't even have a cute navigator to yell and scream at them until they do what she wants."

"Why would they even bother setting sail without one of those?" Sanji questioned.

"WHICH WAY DO WE TURN?" the other crew continued to shout.

"WHO KNOWS?"

"WHERE'S THE NAVIGATOR?"

"WE LOST THE NAVIGATOR!"

"WHERE'S THE CAPTAIN!"

"WE LOST THE CAPTAIN _TOO_!"

"YOU'RE A BUNCH OF MORONS!"

"_YOU'RE_ A MORON!"

"EEEEEP! EEEEEEEEP! EEEEEEEEEP!" The Sea Monkeys cried out as the wave came crashing down on the other ship and swallowed it up. **SPLOOOOSH! **

The Straw Hats had managed to get far enough ahead that when the wave crashed it sent the Going Merry rushing forward at triple its previous speed.

"SHISHISHISHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed. "WOW! WE'RE GOING REALLY FAST NOW! See, Ricky, I told ya! Monkeys are great!"

"TELL THAT TO THE GUYS THEY JUST SANK!" Usopp snapped.

**-x-**

"Man, it's just one terrible thing after another these days," Zoro grumbled.

They had escaped the Sea Monkeys and had lowered the sails. Now they were once again sailing across peaceful water.

"At least it's calm," Sanji pointed out.

"Those huge waves were directly caused by the Sea Monkeys," Nami informed the others. "Now that we've escape them the humidity and temperature seem pretty stable. That means we've gotta be in the next island's climate zone."

"Ugh…" Usopp groaned on the deck. He still hadn't full recovered from all the paddling. "You hear that Robin, any islands?"

"We've been approaching one for a while now," Robin reported from up in the Crow's Nest where she'd taken over Usopp's post.

""WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US!" Luffy and Usopp complained.

"You are way too secretive," Usopp scolded her. "Tell us the next time you see an island. You know, like this…" Usopp turned and motioned to Luffy.

"LAND AHOY! LAND! LAND! I SEE LAND!" Luffy shouted. "YEAH! YEAH! SHISHISHI!"

"Now you say it!" Usopp prompted.

"The fog looks pretty thick," Robin stated.

"DON'T IGNORE ME!" Usopp shouted.

"You know Robin, it kind of defeats the purpose of keeping lookout if you don't tell us when you spot something," Ricky pointed out.

"Yeah!" Luffy chimed in now that he was done shouting. "Do you have any idea how long we've been waiting to see another island?"

Robin blinked then looked down at them. "Fog ahoy. Fog. Fog. I see fog," she dead-panned.

Ricky looked over at Luffy and Usopp then shrugged, "It's a start."

"Fog, huh?" Nami questioned as she stood on the deck in front of the galley and surveyed the approaching cloud of fog. "That's not good. Hey Chopper! I need you to stand forward watch!"

"Right!" Chopper replied as he scrambled up onto the front deck.

"You know, I can't stop thinking about that other ship," Usopp remarked. "They didn't have a captain, or a navigator or even sails. It was like they had no idea what they were doing. What kind of self-respecting pirates would head out to sea like that?"

"Maybe they didn't have a choice," Ricky suggested.

"I'm guessing they got in a battle and lost," Zoro said. "Their captain probably got killed and then their ship got plundered."

"That can't be it," Usopp argued, "I got a look at their ship. It was in perfect condition. No signs of battle. But it was still stripping clean of everything a pirate would need to survive."

"They probably weren't even pirates then," Sanji decided. "Forget it."

"They looked like pirates to me," Usopp grumbled to himself as he wandered over to the railing. "Crummy pirates, but still… I've got a bad feeling about this somehow."

"Have you ever had a good one?" Sanji retorted as he went to join Chopper on the front deck.

"Anyway!" Luffy chimed in, "I hope there's a town!" He stretched his arms out and shot himself onto the front deck along with the others. "Maybe they've got a shipyard!"

"Be careful Luffy!" Nami called after him. "Don't just jump off when we get there!"

"…" The others had all wandered off and now Ricky and Nami were standing alone on the deck.

Nami folded her arms across her chest, "Got something to say?"

"I… I'm glad we have you on the crew," Ricky replied. "We'd be sunk without you. That other crew showed us that."

"I guess that means you're sunk then," Nami retorted as she turned and stalked away.

"Looks like we're still in troubled waters," Robin observed. Her binoculars were pointed down at the deck. "We might need to watch out for oncoming storms."

The Going Merry sailed onward into the cloud of fog towards the island that Robin had spotted.

"I hope we can find a Shipwright," Chopper said as he hung on the front railing and peered through the thick fog.

"GET THE ANCHOR READY! WE'RE NEAR THE SHORE!" Luffy shouted.

"I'm on it," Zoro agreed.

"Ahh!" Usopp yelped as he dropped to his knees, "The bag feeling just got worse!"

"Hey Chopper," Sanji called out, "Usopp's come down with another case of scaredy-cat-itis."

"No cure for that!" Chopper chirped.

"Right, let's go, let's go!" Luffy exclaimed.

The fog cleared and the Going Merry reached the shore.

"Huh?" Zoro grunted.

"You're kidding?" Sanji growled.

The island was made up of mostly flat grassy meadows. The flat land allowed the Straw Hats to see all the way across the island to the small mountain range. Other than the tall thin trees it was clear that were no villages on this island.

"THERE'S NOTHING AT ALL!" Luffy blurted out. "IT'S LIKE A BLANK SLATE! COOL! ALL I CAN SEE IS GRASS AND TREES!"

"Uggh…" Sanji groaned. "This place is kind of depressing."

"I wonder if anyone actually lives here," Robin commented.

"YAHOO!" **SKISH! **Luffy eagerly jumped from the Going Merry to the shore.

"HEY!" Nami snapped. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU?"

"ME TOO!" Chopper cheered. **SKISH! **He jumped off the ship after Luffy.

"WAA-HAA!" Usopp laughed as he jumped after Chopper. **SKISH!**

"SHISHISHISHISHI!""AHAHAHAHAHAHA!""TEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!"

The three Straw Hats laughed as they rolled back and forth through the soft grass.

"Geez, it's like they have no concept of unknown danger," Nami complained.

Behind her, Zoro tossed the anchor off the side of the ship.** SPLOOSH!**

"We can see clear across the island," Zoro pointed out. "There's no threat in sigh. Why do you think Usopp went after him?"

"Aaaahh!" Luffy, Usopp and Chopper all sighed happily as they finished rolled and relaxed on the soft grass.

Chopper was the only one to open his eyes so he was the one that spotted the bear. "WAAAH!"

"See something Chopper?" Luffy asked as he and Usopp sat up.

"Whoa!" Luffy, Usopp and Chopper all gasped as they stared up at the bear. It was white, furry and walked on its hind legs. But what stood out about the bear was that its long thin body and limbs made it nearly as tall as the tall thin trees.

"Is it… a human?" Chopper wondered as he watched the bear walk on its hind legs.

**SKISH! **Luffy jumped up onto the tall bears back. "Have you ever seen a human this furry or enormous? It's gotta be some kind of bear!"

"Grrr?" the bear growled as it suddenly found Usopp hanging off of its neck along with Luffy and Chopper perched on top of its head.

"Whoa!" Usopp exclaimed. "It's so long! It's a long bear!"

"I'm getting dizzy up here," Chopper remarked from way up on the long bear's head.

**SWUP! **Luffy stretched his arm out and grabbed a fruit off of a nearby tree. The red fruit was long and thin and was shaped vaguely like a big pepper. **Chomp! **But when Luffy bit into it, the fruit was crunchy and pale yellow inside.

"IT'S AN APPLE!" Luffy realized. "It's a long apple!"

"Whoa!" Usopp gaped at the long fruit. "I'm just realizing it but the trees are long too."

"Grr… grrrrr…" the bear got tired of the three pirates hanging on it and gave a wild shake. **SWISH-SWISH-SKISH! **Luffy, Usopp and Chopper were thrown off and landed on the ground.

The pulled themselves back up as the bear stomped off and Usopp pulled down his goggles.

"Hey, is that a house over there?" Usopp called out. They hadn't spotted it at first because unlike everything else on this island the building was remarkably short.

"Yeah, I guess it kind of looks like a house," Luffy remarked as he finished off his long apple and then ate the long core. "Let's go check it out."

"YAAAAH!" Usopp yelped as they song a fox run across their path. The fox was taller than all of them but its long body stretched onward for a good thirty feet.

A large long deer walked passed in the opposite direction of the fox. But like the fox it had a long body that stretched for about twenty-five feet.

"Are you guys related?" Luffy asked as he looked from the deer's antlers to Chopper's.

"That's a deer! I'm a reindeer!" Chopper corrected him. "Don't be racist!"

They continued onward and watched seagull fly overhead. The seagull had a long swan-like neck and a big body that made it over ten feet long. Its wide wing span was a good twelve feet.

"Whoa!" Chopper gasped as they saw a furry white dog next. It was white and furry and its head came up to Usopp's waist. Its long body stretched back down the meadow with no end in sight.

"Shishishishishi!" Luffy laughed as he ran over to the dog. He crouched in front of it and held out his hand, "Shake."

"Ruff," the dog barked as it raised its paw and shook Luffy's hand.

"Hey Chopper, check this out," Usopp boasted. "Back home I was the Limbo Champion!" Usopp stretched himself then bent backwards on his legs and carefully started to crabwalk under the dog's long body.

"Teeheehee!" Chopper chuckled, "Go for it Usopp!"

"Now down," Luffy instructed the dog. **FWUMP! **The dog's long body dropped to the ground right on top of Usopp.

"UUGGHHH!" the sniper groaned underneath the long dog.

"Now beg," Luffy ordered.

"Reeff," the dog let out a chuckle as he reared back onto its hind legs. **SWISH! **Its head and front paws went up and up and up until they couldn't see them anymore.

"IT'S MILES LONG!" Chopper exclaimed.

"Wow, I can't even see its head!" Usopp commented.

"Good dog!" Luffy called up to it.

**-x-**

Back on the Going Merry, Robin was still up in the Crow's Nest.

"Huh?" Robin said as she stared through the fog and spotted movement. She squinted and spotted a large ship-like shape with sails.

"Where'd they run off to?" Zoro wondered.

"They were here just a minute ago," Nami replied.

"Hey Robin, do you see anything?" Ricky called up to her. "I thought we went over this."

Robin looked down at him. "Ship ahoy. Ship. Ship. I think I saw a ship."

"Now I feel like you're mocking me," Ricky stated.

Robin crossed her arms over her chest, "There's just no pleasing you, is there? I didn't realize you were so high maintenance."

"_I'm _high maintenance?" Ricky turned and asked the others.

"No, _I'm _high maintenance," Nami retorted. "_You're_ a stubborn jackass."

"Is this what we're doing now?" Ricky questioned. "I'll say something and then you'll make a snarky comment?"

Nami glared at him, "Maybe."

"If Miss. Robin saw a ship, maybe we should disembark?" Sanji suggested. "Maybe there's food on this island."

"Might as well," Ricky agreed. "If there's another ship here we'd be better off on land. This way if they turn out to be hostile we can fight them on land and keep from damaging the Merry."

**-x-**

"Everything on this island is so long!" Usopp remarked. "How did it get this way? Maybe it's the gravity?"

"My body feels all stretched out just from thinking about it!" Chopper replied.

They had finally made it to the house which was shaped like a short one-story dome.

"Heellooo! Anyone home?" Luffy called out as he opened the red wooden door and walked in.

"Hey! What're you doing?" Usopp snapped as he grabbed Luffy and tried to hold him back. Luffy ended up dragging Usopp into the house I with him. "You can't go in there! For all we know the Boss of this island lives in this house and he's probably some terrifyingly long man-snake-monster that'll swallow us whole!"

"I was already swallowed by a long snake-monster," Luffy reminded Usopp. "So don't worry! Besides, it's empty. No one's home."

"Huh?" Usopp grunted as he stared around the one-room house.

"**Hey Luffy! Usopp!" **Chopper called out from outside. **"There's a giraffe out here!"**

"Really?" Luffy and Usopp gasped as they ran.

**Neeeiiggh! **The giraffe reared back and let out a whinny. It had long legs and a long neck that made it taller than the house they'd just come out of.

"Whooaaa…" Luffy gaped up at the giraffe. It was solid white giraffe. A solid white giraffe with hooves, a mane and a purple saddle.

"Chopper, that's not a giraffe that's a horse with a long neck," Usopp stated, "A long horse!"

"You're a horse?" Chopper asked the horse.

**Neeigh! **The horse confirmed as it craned its long neck down and nuzzled Chopper.

"Wow! It's a girl horse!" Luffy exclaimed as he stood directly underneath the horse and stared up at its underbody.

**NEIGH! **

"Luffy, don't stand there!" Chopper scolded him. Luffy stepped out from underneath the horse. "Her name's Shelly."

"Going by the saddle, her owner must be close by," Usopp reasoned. He turned and saw Luffy staring off passed the house. "What're you looking at?'

"Over there," Luffy said as he pointed at two tall bamboo stalks that hadn't been there before. "There's something up with those bamboo trees."

They went over to the bamboo and craned their necks up.

"Wow, you're right!" Usopp exclaimed. "Talk about tall! I can't even see the top!"

"That's not it," Luffy said. "Look closer."

"Huh?" Usopp said as he leaned in and peered at the bamboo. **SWIIISH! **The left bamboo stalk moved forward. "WAAAAAAHHH! "THEY'RE MOVING!"

"They must be part of some long animal!" Luffy decided. **SWIIISH! **The right bamboo stalk moved forward and slammed into Luffy from behind. **THWAK!**

"THAT THING'S ATTACKING LUFFY!" Usopp shrieked as Luffy tumbled across the grass. "ARE YOU OKAY?"

Luffy spun into his roll and pushed himself back up to his feet then spun to face the attacking bamboo trees. "GET BACK HERE BAMBOO!"

"BE CAREFUL!" Usopp warned him.

"GUUUUUM… GUUUUUUUM…" **SHOOOOOOOM! **Luffy stretched his leg back and whipped it around at the bamboo stalk that had attacked him. "WHIIIIIIIIP!" **KER-RACK! **Luffy's leg smashed through the bamboo stalk.

"ALRIGHT! YOU DID IT!" Usopp cheered.

"YEAH! NO TREE CAN BEAT ME!" Luffy boasted.

"Why are you along?" Chopper asked Sherry. "Where's your owner?"

**Neeii…**

"You don't know where?" Chopper questioned. "That sounds awfully lonely."

**KRAASSHH! **Chopper and Sherry looked over at the other side of the house and watched the bamboo stalk crash to the ground.

"It might be bad guys!" Chopper realized, "You say here and hide!"

**Neeigghh… **Sherry agreed as she ducked her head down to hide behind the short house.

"What's going on?" Chopper called out as he ran over to Luffy and Usopp.

"Well… uh…" Luffy said as he, Usopp and Chopper stared down at… an old man. "I think that bamboo tree was possessed by this old-man-spirit."

**-x-**

**BOOOOM! BOOOOM!**

Ricky, Zoro, Nami, Sanji and Robin stood on the shore and watched as two claws shot out and sank onto the shore around the Going Merry. **SHUNK! SHUNK!**

The five Straw Hats stared passed the Going Merry which was easily dwarfed by the huge galleon-sized pirate ship.

"Hey, what's the deal?" Sanji wondered. "They blocked in our ship."

"This can't be good," Nami realized.

"That's the ship I saw earlier," Robin observed.

"You guys looking for a fight?" Zoro growled.

"'Cause we'll give you one," Sanji added.

The ship was massive and lined with gold. It had a silver fox for the figurehead and the two chained claws that it had shot onto the shore around the Merry were shaped like fox paws. The first of the three masts was adorned with black sails. The bottom one had a Jolly Roger that had slanted fox eyes, fox ears on top of the skull and an oddly shaped red nose. The word 'FOXY' had been painted onto the black sail around the Jolly Roger.

"**WE ARE THE NOTORIOUS FOXY PIRATES!" **a loud voice called out from on the ship. **"WE WANT MORE THAN JUST A FIGHT FROM YOU! WE WANT A SHOWDOWN!"**

"Just what we need," Nami growled, "More annoying foxes.

"I take offense to that," Ricky stated.

"You were meant to!" Nami snapped.

**-x-**

"A tree spirit?" Chopper questioned as they stared down at the old man. He had a round wrinkled forehead, small round eyes, a bulbous round nose and a bushy white round beard. He wore a brown fur had with cloth that went down around his ears and a yellow tunic that was lined in a green and had a pale purple sash around the waist.

"Yeah," Luffy replied. "What else pops out of a tree?"

"Hey, can you speak?" Usopp asked the tree spirit.

The old man sat up, "What do you mean I don't remember you? Of course I do. What have you been up to all these years?"

"Huh?" Usopp questioned. "You guys know him?"

"Never seen him," Luffy stated.

"Same here," Chopper agreed.

"Well, that would explain why I don't remember you then," the old man replied.

"WHO ARE YOU OLD MAN?" Usopp demanded. "AND TELL US THE TRUTH!"

"If you want my name, it's Tonjit," the old man answered as he rubbed his finger under his nose, "But what I intend to give you is my gratitude. I've been hoping someone would knock me down off those stilts."

"Off what?" Usopp inquired. He turned and saw that the 'bamboo trees' actually had foot holds on them. "Oh, they are stilts!"

"We didn't realize 'cause they were so long!" Luffy stated. "We couldn't even see you!"

"I'm not surprised," Tonjit replied. "I couldn't even see the ground up there."

"So let's get this straight," Luffy tried to clarify, "You're _not _a tree spirit. You're just some old guy whose stilts I thought were attacking me. What were you doing walking around on those stilts anyway?"

"Well I've always been a stilt enthusiast," Tonjit explained. "I wanted to break some records and make the world's tallest stilts by using the bamboo on this island. I managed to get on them with a little effort but then I was too scared to climb back down."

"That's just plain crazy!" Luffy exclaimed.

"I was up there for ten years," Tonjit stated.

"THAT'S EVEN CRAZIER!" Luffy shouted.

"WAIT!" Usopp shrieked. "YOU WERE ON THOSE STILTS FOR TEN WHOLE YEARS?"

"That's right," Tonjit confirmed, "And to make matters worse, the bamboo kept growing the entire time. It just kept getting harder and harder to climb down. So terrifying!"

"HOW DID YOU LIVE UP THERE FOR TEN YEARS?" Usopp shouted.

"Well most of the trees on this island are just as tall as my stilts," Tonjit answered, "if not taller. So I was well fed from their fruit."

"He talks about it like it's no big deal," Usopp remarked, "Ten long years of his life."

"And speaking of long stuff," Luffy said, "How come all the animals here are so insanely long?"

"It might seem crazy to an outsider but there is a reason," Tonjit told him. "As I'm sure you've noticed the island is nothing but grass and trees. It's dull. So everything grew long out of a _longing _for excitement."

"_He can't be serious…" _Luffy thought to himself.

"See that over there?" Tonjit pointed out a bird really long beak. "Plaaaatypuuus."

"You just said it longer!" Usopp scolded him.

"And that one," Tonji turned and pointed to the long white dog that Usopp had tried to play limbo with earlier, "That's a daaaachshuuund dooooog."

"Is that the same dong?" Chopper wondered.

"You mean it's _still_ passing us!" Usopp exclaimed. "Oh man!"

"And there are dangerous animals as well, "Tonjit added. "See, over there? It's a snoooow leeopaaaard. I'd steer clear of it."

"Oh yeah," Usopp agreed. "Leopards sound like bad news. I don't wanna run into one of those." Usopp turned and his eyes bugged out when he saw the snoooow leeopaaaard. It had a normal body but its head was stretched really wide. "WHY IS IT'S HEAD THE ONLY THING THAT'S LONG?"

But while Tonji continued to point out the long animals on the island, the three Straw Hats didn't realize that they were being watched.

A pair of binoculars and split hair that looked like fox ears poke out of a nearby bush.

**SWISH! **Two other figures popped out of the bush behind the first person. The first was big and fat while the second was small with womanly curves.

"**Fehfehfehfehfeh," **a man with a long red nose and a fox-like grin laughed as he stared through the binoculars at the three pirates. **"Hello… We've found the Captain!"**

**-x-**

**Reunion on Long Ring Long Land:**

**-x-**

"I'm in your debt," Tonjit told the Straw Hats after they'd helped him down from his giant stilts. "Let me show you some hospitality. Come to my house."

"AWESOME!" Luffy exclaimed. "I'm starving!"

"Me too!" Chopper chirped.

Luffy, Usopp and Chopper followed the old man back into the small round house.

"Finally home after all these years," Tonjit remarked. "It's a custom in this village to treat visitors to treat visitors to extra delicious milk from our farm animals."

"Village?" Luffy repeated. "I didn't see any village out there."

"Or farm animals," Chopper added.

"Now that you mention it…" Tonjit muttered. "Gaaaah…" the old man's eyes widened in shock. "THE WHOLE VILLAGE IS GONE! ALL OF OUR ANIMALS TOO!"

"You're nuts old man," Usopp remarked. "I know it's been ten years but whole villages don't just disappear."

"Yes, but this is a special case," Tonjit replied. "I'll save the explanation until after we've had a nice cold drink. I believe I had some mild tucked away somewhere."

"Did you say 'milk'?" Usopp questioned. "You do realize you were stuck on those stilts for ten years, don't you?"

"Gaaaah…" the old man's eyes widened in shock. "In that case would you like some cheese?" Tonjit poured a plate of smelly, lumpy dairy out onto a plate.

"THAT'S THE MILK, ISN'T IT?" Usopp snapped.

"If you don't want to eat it I won't force you," Tonjit said as he placed the 'cheese' on the table and helped himself to a little pinch of it. "But far be it from me to let cheese go to waste."

"Wait, so you're saying it's okay to eat this stuff after-all?" Luffy asked.

"Are you out of your mind?" Usopp scolded Luffy as he slapped Luffy's hand away from the plate of expired 'cheese'.

"What's the big deal?" Tonjit inquired. "Some cheese tastes better when its finely aged. Your high-stress lifestyles have made your stomachs week. Whereas laidback fellows like myself can eat whatever we like. You kids go on your fancy adventures but you're shy when it comes to new food."

"Gaaaah…" the old man's eyes widened in shock and he dropped to the floor and held his belly. "Someone… call a doctor…"

"WHAT DID YOU THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN?" Usopp demanded. "MORON!"

"DOCTOR! SOMEONE GET A DOCTOR! HURRY!" Chopper shouted then he trailed off. "Wait! That's me!" Chopper quickly pulled a stethoscope out of his backpack and held it to Tonjit's stomach. "It's food poisoning."

"YEAH, YA THINK!" Usopp snapped.

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed. "You're funny, old man!"

"Are you gonna be okay?" Chopper asked Tonjit.

"Yes," the old man answered, "Except for the fact that the entire camp packed up and moved on without me."

"I see now," Chopper realized. "The village didn't disappear, it moved. That means the people here are nomads."

Tonjit nodded. "Indeed. And Long Ring Long Land Island is our home. You are welcome here."

"Oh, uh thanks," Luffy replied.

"Long Ring Long Land Island got its name from its ring-like shape," Tonjit went on to explain. "Although its technically one bit circle, the tides divide it into ten small islands. You'd probably never guess that all of the islands are connected but once a year when the tides are at their lows you can see Long Ring Long Land Islands true form, if only for a couple of hours. We use this time to migrate from one island to the next every three years, circling the ring again and again."

"Oh, so everyone moved to the next island while you were stuck up in the trees," Usopp noted. "What rotten luck."

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed. "That's a good one! You're a real rebel old man!"

"Hmm…" Usopp mused out loud, "If they stay on each island for three years then subtract the ten years that you were living on those stupid bamboo stilts then it'll still take a good twenty years for them to come around and meet up with you again. That's assuming you don't eat that cheese again and die of food poisoning of course."

"Well it's sad but true," Tonjit agreed. "I just wish I had my hoooorrrse to ride again. Then I could cross to an island every time the tides were low and catch up to the other villagers in only five years."

"Hoooorrrse?" Chopper repeated.

"That's right," Tonjit said. "They're the most graceful and beautiful animals on the whole island. Once tamed, they can be used to gross the grassy planed with the greatest of ease. Without them it would be impossible for our people to migrate. After all, our belongings are far too heavy to carry on our own. And even if we were strong enough to move all our luggage the tide would still rise and drown us before we could make it across."

"Wouldn't it be easier to take a boat instead?" Luffy of all people suggested.

"Yes, of course," Tonjit answered. "But unfortunately we don't know how to sail. And besides, even if we could charge a Log Pose here that doesn't mean it would point to the next island. The land may be split into ten pieces but its all part of the same place. I suppose I'll just have to wait twenty years."

"You'll be lonely," Luffy pointed out. "That's a long time."

"Oh, wait a second!" Chopper exclaimed. "Is a hoooorrrse like a horse?"

"Hey, I almost forgot about that!" Luffy realized. "We saw a horse here earlier!"

"Gaaaah…" the old man's eyes widened in shock.

**-x-**

**Neeeiigh! Neeeigh!**

"Oh, my sweet little Shelly!" Tonjit cried as he reunited with his lost horse.

**Neeeigh… **Shelly craned her long neck down and nuzzled Tonjit while the old man hugged her.

"You waited for me all these years!" Tonjit gushed. "You're such a pretty girl! Such a good girl! Look at you, I missed you so much. You've sure grown long since I've been away. Good girl. I'm so sorry you were all alone while I was gone. It's all my fault. I'll never leave you again!"

**Neeigh-neeiigh! **Shelly reared up onto her rear legs.

"She wants you to ride her," Chopper translated, "Don't leave her waiting!"

And a moment later, Tonjit was sitting in Shelly's saddle as she raced through the meadow. Both the man and his devoted horse wore wide smiles.

"What a pal, huh?" Usopp remarked as he, Luffy and Chopper sat together and watched the happily reunited duo frolic through the meadow. "Even though everyone else left, she still hung around all these years."

"That's my kind of horse," Luffy commented.

"I don't know which one of them is happier right now," Chopper noted.

"Hahahahaha!" Tonjit laughed as he and Shelly raced by again/

"Man, that horse sure is fast!" Luffy exclaimed. "I wanna ride it too!"

"I see why that old man likes horses so much," Usopp added.

"Now that I'm back let's cross the sea together, Shelly," Tonjit said to his loyal steed. "As soon as the tide is low again, okay? You've waited through rainy days and you've waited through snowy days as well. But from now on we'll have nothing but sunshine!"

**Neeiiigh! **Shelly replied as she thought back to what she had been through.

**-Shelly Flashback-**

"Shelly, are you sure you want to wait here for Tonjit all alone?" the leader of the nomads asked. "We're taking all your friends with us."

Shelly looked to see that all the other hoooorrrses had been saddled up with the nomads belonging for the upcoming migration. That was her herd but Tonjit was her human.

"Please, come with us Shelly," the leader pleaded with the dedicated hoooorrrse. "We won't return to this island for twenty-seven years. You're going to be lonely if you stay here all by yourself. We don't know where Tonjit ran off to but its not worth waiting here. He may be gone for good."

Tonjit's young granddaughter ran over. "I'm gonna stay here too!" the little girl insisted. "Grandpa's coming back! I just know it!"

"Don't be foolish, you can't stay here alone," the leader scolded her.

"I don't wanna leave Shelly and grandpa all alone!" the girl cried. "Grandpa's coming back! I know it! We have to wait for him!"

The leader picked up the girl and carried her back to the others. "Good luck, old girl," he told the dedicated horse. "Live well."

"SHELLY!" the little girl called out.

The nomads set off and Shelly was left behind. She waited alone on the island for any sign of Tonjit. She waited through the rain, through the snow. She waited ten long, lonely years.

**-End Shelly's Flashback-**

**NEEIIGH! **Now all that waiting was worth it because Shelly had been reunited with her human. Those long lonely years were all behind her now.

Shelly galloped with an extra spring in her step. Happy to finally be reunited with her human.

"Whoa there, Shelly!" Tonjit warned her, "You know this old man's afraid of heights, don't ya? Hahahahahaha!"

"Shishishishishi!""Ahahahahahahaha!""Teeheeheeheehee!" The three Straw Hats all laughed from seeing such a joyful happy reunion.

**BANG!**

Tonjit went flying off of Shelly's back and the horse dropped to the ground.

"GAAAH! OH NO!" Usopp yelped as the pirates jumped to their feet.

"ARE YOU OKAY?" Chopper called out as they ran over to the nomad and his horse.

"Grrr…" Luffy growled and clenched his fists as he searched the source of the gunshot.

"Uuuuggghhhh…" Tonjit groaned as he held his back.

**Neeeeiiggh… neeeeiiigghhh… **

The old man turned and saw that Shelly hadn't been shot but that there was a net tangled around her long legs.

"SHELLY! WHAT HAPPENED!" Usopp shouted as he and Chopper ran over.

"WE HEARD A GUNSHOT!" Chopper added.

"What's with this net?" Usopp wondered as he dropped down and got to work untangling it. "Here, I'll get it." Chopper ran passed Usopp and went to check on Tonjit.

"**Fehfehfehfeh!" **Luffy whirled around to see three people. A small man, a big gorilla, and a woman. **"Sorry suckers, but that horse is mine!"**

"**Yeah, you tell him boss," **a woman chimed in. **"Put those losers in their place!"**

"Whoever you are…" Luffy snarled, "YOU'LL PAY!"

**-x-**

**Davy Back Fight:**

**-x-**

"Whoever you are?" the man repeated. He was a short, chubby man with skinny arms and legs. He had bushy black eyebrows that looked like a series of triangles, he had a long red nose and slick grin plastered across his face. His black hair was split into two tuft that were designed to look like fox ears but had unintended consequence of making his head look like it had been partially split in half. He had six-pack abs but was also wearing a green girdle that peek out under his yellow-orange suspender pants. He wore an elaborate fox themed necklace and a purple fur-lined coat with a high collar. The man was **Foxy the Silver Fox **the Captain of the Foxy Pirates with a bounty of 24,000,000 berries. "You mean, you don't know?"

"My goodness," the woman next to Foxy remarked. She was a curvy young woman with long dark blue hair, a pointed nose and blue eyes. She wore a black domino face mask with slanted fox-like eyes and a red and pink striped had with a big white puff ball on it. She also wore a pink jumpsuit with a pale pink sash tied around her waist and long elbow-length gloves that were cuffed with white fluff. The top of the jumpsuit was unzipped to reveal a pink bikini top. The woman was **Porche **the Idol of the Foxy Pirates. "How rude."

"Pupupupu!" the huge man laughed and held his hands over his face. He towered over Foxy and Proche at nearly twenty feet. He upper body was huge and muscular while his legs were relatively skinny which made him look like a gorilla. He had small eyes and a round nose but a large round lower face with thick lips that made him look like a monkey. He wore a black and blue striped cap with eye holes cut in it so it served as a face mask. His chest was bare but he wore blue pants and a pale blue sash around his waist that matched Porche's and blue elbow-length gloves with a round pale blue 'Foxy' emblem on the cuffs. The big man was **Hamburg **a Foxy Pirate and the leader of the Groggy Monsters.

"Don't tell me you've never seen this face before!" Foxy called out to Luffy.

"THE ONLY THING I KNOW ABOUT YOUR FACE IS THAT I'M GONNA BREAK IT!" Luffy hollered back.

But then he blinked in surprise when Foxy dropped to his knees and whimpered. "He… he really doesn't know me…"

"Oh no!" Porche gushed as she patted Foxy's back to console him. "Don't get depressed boss! He's just saying that! It's a joke! Everybody knows that!"

"Not that he'd have an reason to know him," Hamburg remarked then laughed, "Pupupupupu!"

"YOU'RE GONNA MAKE HIM CRY HAMBURG!" Porche snapped at the big gorilla-man.

"My name is Foxy the Silver Fox," Foxy introduced himself as he regained his confidence. "What's mine is mine and what's yours is also mine! Fehfehfeh! You should see the looks on your dump faces! What kind of pansy gets so worked up over a stupid horse? If I didn't steal that thing myself, then somebody else would do it!"

"That's enough!" Luffy snapped and stretched his arm back. **SHOOM! **"GUUM… GUUUM…"

"Hold it Luffy! Not yet!" Foxy called out.

"Huh, how'd you know my name?" Luffy asked.

"Because unlike some people we did our homework," Foxy boasted.

"'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy, Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates with a bounty of one hundred million berries," Porche recited. "Thanks to the latest Marine intelligence we know that your First Mate is 'One Eye' Ricky a former Whitebeard Pirate with a bounty of eighty million berries. Your crew also consists of 'Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro with a bounty of sixty million berries, 'Demon Child' Nico Robin with a of seventy-nine million berries and four other pirates that makes a total of eight pirates. For such a small crew you're worth a big lump of cash."

"Now with introductions out of the way," Foxy said as he held up three gold coins in is fingers, "As Captain of the Foxy Pirates I challenge you to a Davy Back Fight!"

"I don't know what that means," Luffy admitted, "But if you wanna fight, bring it on! I'm sick of hearing you talk!"

"A Davy Back Fight?" Usopp repeated as he watched Luffy confront the three Foxy Pirates. "Now it makes sense. I bet that crummy crew we saw got challenged to a Davy Back Fight too. That's why their ship was in perfect condition but the crew itself was in tatters. This is bad! I've gotta stop him or we could end up like them!"

"LUFFY NO!" Usopp shouted at Luffy. "WE'LL END UP LOSING OUR CREW!"

"What're you talking about, Usopp?" Luffy asked.

"I know what a Davy Back Fight is," Usopp told him as he ran towards Luffy, "And I know that this guy's a jerk. But you can't agree to his challenge!"

"Fehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed, "Too bad kid! NO TAKEBACKS! He already agreed. He said 'bring it on', remember? Ain't that right, Porche?"

"That's what he said," Porche confirmed. "And once you accept a challenge there's no turning back. That's the rule."

"Shoulda kept your mouth shut," Hamburg taunted, "Pupupupu!"

"What's wrong?" Foxy taunted. "Don't tell me you aren't man enough to keep your word."

"AM TOO!" Luffy insisted. **WOMP! **Usopp finally reached Luffy and clubbed him on the head.

"YOU'RE FALLING INTO HIS TRAP!" Usopp berated him.

"But what about the horse?" Luffy protested. "Come on! I wanna kick this guy's ass!"

"Shelly… oooh…" Tonjit groaned.

"You landed on your back pretty hard," Chopper warned the injured old man, "Don't push yourself too much."

**Neeiigghh… **Shelly was caught in Foxy's net. Usopp had abandoned untangling it to stop Luffy.

"Uggh…" Tonjit grunted and pushed himself back up to his feet. "Both of you step aside!"

"Wha-" Luffy gasped.

"Are you crazy?" Usopp exclaimed as they looked back to see Tonjit pointing a gun at Foxy.

"Shelly waited ten years for me to come back!" Tonjit growled. "I won't let you take her!"

"I know that you're angry," Luffy said, "But those are pirates, old man!"

**-x-**

"What do you mean the fight's already started?" Nami asked as the rest of the Straw Hats stood on the shore and stared up at Foxy's pirate ship the Sexy Foxy. Every member of the Foxy crew wore the same black face mask with slanted eye holes that Porche wore.

"A Davy Back Fight begins as soon as one Captain accepts a challenge from another Captain! No takebacks! You've just gotta deal with it!"

"I don't get this," Zoro growled, "If it's a fight, why do I have to sit and wait? Let's do this right here, right now."

"You don't know anything, do you?" Sanji complained. "It's not a real fight. It's more like a sports match between different pirate crews."

"Supposedly the game originated in a faraway place called Pirate Island," Robin recalled. "The main purpose of a Davy Back Fight is to plunder desirable members from another pirate's crew."

"Pirates plundering other pirates?" Nami questioned.

"Winning a match allows you to pick a member from your opponent's crew," Ricky explained. "The matches are different kinds of challenges. Races, sports, fights, all sorts of fun things."

"What's fun about losing a crew member?" Nami retorted. "Why would anyone agree to that?"

"Once both captains agree to the challenge they take an oath on the name of Davy Jones the Pirate of the Deep," Ricky answered. "So because of that oath when a pirate is plundered from another crew that have to immediately swear an oath of loyalty to their new captain."

"And that's not all!" one of the Foxy Pirates taunted. "If there's no one worth take on the other crew, the Captain can add insult to injury by robbing the crew of its Jolly Roger."

"You're not just risking your crew members but the pride of your crew as well," Sanji stated. "Winning might make you stronger but losing can leave you with nothing at all. You might as well be betting your life."

"That explains that other ship," Nami realized. "They had no Captain, no Navigator, they didn't even have a pirate flag or sails. They must have lost everything in a Davy Back Fight."

"Oh, so you saw the Fanged Frog Pirates, or what's left of them at least," a Foxy Pirate noted. "Here, meet our newest recruits."

"Long live the Foxy Pirates!" a large man with a gray mustache called out as he walked over with a group of pirates. "Before I came here I was the Captain of the Fanged Frog Pirates."

"A was the Doctor," another man added.

"I was the Navigator."

"And I was the Shipwright."

"We played five Three Coin games and lost 'em all," the Fanged Frog Pirates' Navigator recounted. "Thirteen crew members, our captain and our Jolly Roger. With so many of our crew members jumping ship it was more like a merger."

"What about your crew, huh?" Zoro asked. "You don't care? Just join a new crew and leave 'em out to dry?"

"Yeah, no kidding," Sanji said. "Those poor saps got a one way ticket to a watery grave."

"Watery grave?" the former Fanged Frog Captain repeated. "That's their problem. Don't look at me. I'm a Foxy Pirate now."

"You're nothing but scum!" Nami snapped. "We're not playing your stupid game! Got it! T'ere's no way we'd ever sink to your level!"

"Unfortunately, you don't have a choice in the matter," Ricky informed her. "The decision to accept the challenge is the Captain's to make. Nothing any of us say will make a difference. And you know how impulsive Luffy is. Foxy either goaded him into a fight or told him that he wanted to play a game. Do you honestly think he could turn down an offer like that?"

"That's stupid!" Nami snapped. "_You're _stupid! _Luffy's _stupid! I refuse to play a game where _I'm _the prize!"

"We don't have a choice Miss. Nami," Sanji warned her. "If we turned our back on this fight now we'll be sailing away in disgrace."

"Who cares?" Nami exclaimed. "That's better than losing!"

"Maybe for you," Zoro retorted. "But I'd rather die than live in disgrace."

"The same goes for me," Sanji agreed.

"Get over yourselves!" Nami complained.

"Fufufu," Robin chuckled, "You know how men can be. There's no point in arguing with them."

"And who said anything about losing?" Ricky asked. "I play to win."

Nami growled at him, "If you're not going to take this seriously then I'll stop Luffy myself!"

"Don't bother!" one of the Foxy Pirates scoffed. "All that's left now is to wait for the Captain's to fire a shot to signal the beginning of the match."

**BANG! **A gunshot rang out before Nami could even get three feet.

"Ohh… no way!" Nami gasped.

"Guess that settles it," Sanji resolved.

"I'm not complaining," Zoro stated.

"Should be interesting at least," Robin remarked.

"HE'S AGREED TO THE GAME!" the Foxy Pirates cheered.

"Don't worry Nami," Ricky reassured her. "We may have to deal with Luffy's impulsiveness but you still have me."

"IN WHAT UNIVERSE DO I HAVE YOU?" Nami yelled at him.

"…" Ricky stared at her for a moment then answered. "This one. Where we're on the same crew and I'm a former Whitebeard Pirate that used to compete in Davy Back Fights all the time."

"Wait… you've actually done this crazy pirate pillaging competition?" Nami asked.

"We used to hold Davy Back Fights between Divisions," Ricky explained. "For us they were friendly competitions and a way to shake up divisions with occasional batches of fresh blood. With Ace, the other Spade Pirates, and Division Two I was undefeated. Twenty-one and oh."

"You call that an undefeated streak!" a Foxy Pirate shouted. "Foxy's undefeated too! He's won nine hundred twenty Davy Back Fights and has a crew of almost five hundred pirates!"

"Sounds like a challenge," Ricky replied as he flashed the Foxy Pirates a fox-like grin. "He's undefeated because he hasn't faced me yet. I'll break his streak."

**-x-**

Luffy held the smoking gun that he'd taken from Tonjit and just fired up in the air.

**SWISH! **The round exploded and became a net then dropped down out of the sky and snagged Foxy, Porche and Hamburg. **SWASH!**

"WAAH!" Foxy yelped as he and his cronies struggled to get out of the net.

"STUPID!" Usopp yelled at Luffy and slapped the back of his head. **WHAP! **"WHY DID YOU AGREE? YOU COULD END UP LOSING YOUR CREW! YOU COULD LOSE _ME_!"

"Nope, I'm gonna win this thing!" Luffy insisted.

Foxy slipped out from the net and stood back up. "NOW THE DAVY BACK FIGHT'S OFFICIALLY UNDERWAY!"

"Good!" Luffy retorted. "The sooner I can pound your face in the better!"

"Fehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed. "I'd like to see you try!"

"BRING IT ON SPLIT-HEAD!" Luffy snapped.

"He… he doesn't like my haircut…" Foxy whimpered as he dropped to his knees.

"HEY!" Porche snapped as she and Hamburg slipped out of the net. "HE'S VERY SENSITIVE! APOLOGIZE RIGHT NOW!"

"He's sensitive about everything," Hamburg confessed, "He's got a heart of glass. Pupupupu!"

"DON'T LAUGH AT HIM!" Porche scolded Hamburg.

"Luffy, just listen!" Usopp urged his Captain. "I'm as angry about the old guy's horse as you are but this is madness!"

"Good, use that anger to thrash 'em!" Tonjit chimed in as he flashed Luffy a thumbs up.

"AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE INJURED!" Usopp yelled at him.

"LEAVE IT TO ME!" Luffy hollered.

Foxy smirked as he stood up and regained his confidence again. "You don't know what you're getting into."

**-x-**

The Foxy Pirates showed that they were more than used to their Captain challenging other crew's to Davy Back Fights. In a matter of minutes they had erected a stage and surrounded it by gift shops and foot carts that made it look like a fair.

This was the Davy Back Fight Opening Ceremony.

**Ka-BLOOM-BLOOM! **Fireworks exploded overhead.

"Sausage on a stick!" a Foxy Pirate with snack box called out. "Get your sausage on a stick!"

"ITS TIME FOR THE OPENING CEREMONY!" a Foxy Pirate on the stage called out. "EVERYBODY SIMMER DOWN! ALL COMPETITORS GET READY!"

"Huh, split-head may be a jerk but he sure knows how to party," Luffy remarked as he, Usopp, Chopper and Tonjit wandered into the Opening Ceremony. "And check out all the people he invited. Is that his crew?"

"Wow!" Chopper exclaimed. "There's so many."

"Five jumbo yakisoba please," Tonjit requested as he stood at a noodle stand.

"Whose side are you on, old man?" Usopp snapped at him.

"**Oh, there you guys are." **The Straw Hat trio turned and saw Ricky approaching with four sticks of cotton candy. He handed the cotton candy out to Luffy, Usopp and Chopper then took a bite out of his own. "Couldn't resist the challenge, huh Luffy?"

"Oh, yummy!" Chopper gushed as he ate a chunk of pink fluff.

"Split-head's a jerk!" Luffy insisted. "I'm gonna kick his ass in this Black Fight-thing!"

"Davy Back Fight," Ricky corrected him. "Luckily, I've played this game before with Ace. They're still going to explain the rules though. You need to go on the stage and pick how many matches you want to do."

A moment later, Porche stood on the stage with a microphone while Pirate Captains Monkey D. Luffy and Foxy the Silver Fox sat behind her.

"Now let's calm down boys," Porche told the Foxy Crew that had gathered in front of the stage. "We're about to start!"

"I LOVE YOU PORCHE!" a Foxy Pirate called out to the idol of the crew.

"MARRY ME!" another Foxy Pirate called out.

"Since most of our challengers have never played this game before, let's go over the rules," Porche addressed the crowd. "First, whatever you lose in one of the matches whether it's your crew, your Jolly Roger or anything else the only way you can take it back is with another Davy Back Fight. Second, any crew member taken must swear undying loyalty to their new captain on the spot. No exceptions. Third, if your Jolly Roger is taken you can't ever fly it again."

"Are you sure you don't want some more cotton candy, Miss Nami?" Sanji offered.

The other Straw Hats had gathered around a crate at the back of the crowd.

"I don't know how you can all be so calm about this," Nami whined as she sat on the crate and held her head. She once again ignored Sanji's offered cotton candy.

"It's already settled," Zoro pointed out, "So you might as well stop complaining."

"Finally," Porche concluded, "If you break any of the rules you'll be labelled a disgrace to all pirates and banished to Davy Jones' Locker. So do the Captains swear to uphold them?"

Foxy stood up, "I swear!"

Luffy stood up too, "I swear!"

"YEEEAAAH!" the Foxy Pirates cheered.

"Alright Straw Hat," Foxy called out as he held up three coins between his fingers. "I'll let you choose your fate! One coin, two coins, three coins, it's all up to you kid."

"That's our boss for you," Porche remarked, "Always a good sport."

"What do the coins do?" Luffy asked.

"They decide how many games," Porche explained. "The boss is letting you choose how many matches you'll have. You can quit after one or you do as many as three if you're feeling lucky."

"EEEP!" Nami and Usopp squeaked in alarm.

"Well, the more games we have the more fun we'll have," Luffy reasoned. "So let's…"

"LUFFY!" Nami and Usopp called out. Luffy turned to see them at the back of the crowd. They were each holding up one finger.

Luffy smiled and stared at the fingers. "Okay, got it," Luffy said. "I'll take three!"

"Gaah!" Usopp gasped. He and Nami turned to see Hamburg standing next to them also holding up one finger.

"YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO ADD THEM!" Nami and Usopp snapped. "AND WHY'D YOU COUNT AN ENEMY TOO!"

"That was easy," Hamburg remarked. "Pupupupupu!"

Hamburg walked away and Nami and Usopp saw Ricky standing behind them eating his cotton candy with one hand and holding up three fingers with his other.

"WHAT'RE YOU DOING?" Nami demanded.

"Its strategy," Ricky answered. "We don't know anything about these guys. So in case we lose, we'll have the second match to win back anyone we lose and a third to win the whole thing."

"OR WE COULD LOSE THREE PEOPLE!" Usopp shrieked.

"Lose? Three times?" Ricky questioned. "Don't be ridiculous."

"YOU'RE RIDICULOUS!" Nami snarled. **SWIPE! **Nami snatched Ricky's half eaten cotton candy out of his hand. "You don't deserve this cotton candy!"

"But I paid for it…" Ricky muttered.

"SO IT'S SETTLED!" Foxy loudly announced. "THREE COINS, THREE GAMES, ORTHODOX RULES!" Foxy turned and threw the three coins off the stage and into the water. "LET DAVY JONES BE OUR WITNESS!"

"Who's Davy Jones guy?" Chopper asked. He'd long since finished his cotton candy and was licking the stick. He turned and eyed Robin's cotton candy.

Robin smiled and gave the reindeer her untouched cotton candy. "Davy Jones was a pirate who was cursed by the Devil and forced to spend all of eternity at the bottom of the sea."

"I've never heard of people living under water," Chopper replied.

"Well, that's that the legend says," Robin told him. "And all of the ships and treasures that sink beneath the waves go to Davy Jones' Locker, never to be seen by anyone again."

"I knew the ocean was scary but that's crazy!" Chopper commented.

"Davy Jones has been taking his picks from all sorts of pirates for as long as anyone can remember," Sanji said. "That's why it's called a Davy Back Fight, in honor of the pirate who may someday claim your crew as his own."

"I can't believe you'd gamble your Nakama!" Nami growled at Ricky as she tore off a chunk of his cotton candy.

"Gamble?" Ricky repeated. "Good idea. Since they're Captain's on such a long winning streak, I bet I'll get great odds if I put money on us winning."

"THE STAGE OF BATTLE IS SET STRAW HAT!" Foxy shouted. "ARE YOU READY?"

"YOU BET!" Luffy hollered back. "LET'S GO!"

**-x-**

And that's the first chapter of Another Nakama IV. No Disclaimer Hunts this time around. But they'll be back for Another Nakama V when I have more characters to play around with.

I've already said this to a few people through PMs but I'll publicly announce it now. I'm going to be doing the filler version of the Davy Back Fight Arc. I need something fun and light-hearted before I get into Water 7, Enies Lobby and Thriller Bark. I will _not _be doing the Oceans Dream or the Foxy's Return filler arcs.

Next chapter the Davy Back Fight begins with Round 1: the Donut Race.

'Till Next Time…

Peace!


	2. Round 1

**Another Nakama IV**

**Disclaimer:** The following is a non-profit fanfic. One Piece and all the related characters are owned by Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV, Shueisha, Shonnan Jump Manga and Eiichiro Oda. QPython only owns the original characters that he created for this story.'

**Round 1:**

**-x-**

**BLOOM-BLOOM-BLOOM! **Fireworks exploded overhead as the Foxy Pirates celebrated the upcoming Davy Back Fight against the Straw Hat Pirates.

Two people who weren't thrilled about the upcoming contest were Nami and Usopp. The two of them were currently grinding their knuckles into opposite sides of their rubber captain's head.

"You jerk!" Usopp spat.

"You've landed us in a real mess, Luffy!" Nami complained.

"What's the big deal?" Luffy asked as he attempted to eat some noodles while his crew literally squished his head. "All we've gotta do is win."

**Swip! **One of the Foxy Pirates threw a sheet of paper on the ground in front of the Straw Hats.

"You're forgetting something," the Foxy Pirate stated. "You've gotta fill out your team roster."

"We're not forgetting anything, you guys took your time in handing it out," Ricky said. "Your Captain issued the challenge so you're the hosting party and that means it's on you guys to make sure we get the proper paper work."

"I… hmph," the Foxy Pirate grunted and looked annoyed at Ricky turning the tables on him. "You each get to compete twice. Once you fill that out get it to our Party Organizer."

Zoro was the closest to the roster sheet and picked it up. "It's got all the events listed," he noted. "A race, a ball game, and a team contest." Without another word, the swordsman handed the sheet off to Ricky. "You've played this game before. What's the plan?"

"You're really trusting _him _with this?" Nami protested.

"Of course," Zoro agreed. "I trust him to get us out of this crazy situation."

"Well this says that the entire crew can compete in the race," Ricky noted, "But only three people in the ball game and only five of us in the team contest."

"OOH! Sign me up for all three!" Luffy cheered.

"You can't do that, Luffy," Robin corrected him, "the rules say that we can only compete twice."

"Which is why I'm going sit out the first round," Ricky announced. "This way I'll be able to scout the competition when you're racing and compete in rounds two and three."

"Right," Sanji replied, "So everyone but you will be in the race. What about the other two?"

"You, me and Chopper will compete in the ball game," Ricky decided, "Then Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Robin and I will be in the team competition."

Zoro blinked. "Wait… so I only get to compete once?"

"Get to?" Usopp repeated. "You can have my spot in the third round if you want it!"

"Sorry, Zoro," Ricky said, "But I don't think you and Sanji could work together well enough to be a proper team in the ball game. I'm almost positive that they won't let you use your swords so I want to have someone that excels with unarmed combat. If we throw in Chopper and all his transformations we'll be able to catch them off guard."

Chopper beamed, "You can count on me!"

Zoro shrugged, "If that's your plan, I'm fine with it."

"Again, Zoro can have my spot!" Usopp was all too happy to offer. "Seriously, if we lose I just know that they'll take Captain Usopp!"

"GET OVER YOURSELF!" Nami shouted. "They're gonna take me! I'm the cute one!"

"She's got you there Usopp," Ricky remarked. Nami turned and glared at him. "What? You're cute. I'd pick you if I was a Foxy Pirate."

"You broke up with me!" Nami growled. "You don't get to call me that!"

"Okay… I'm sorry that I called you cute," Ricky replied.

"Mr. One Eye, Ms. Navigator," Robin spoke up, "If you don't mind putting your lover's quarrel on hold until this is over, I think we'd all appreciate it. We need you both focused."

"WE'RE NOT LOVERS!" Nami snapped.

"Sorry Robin," Ricky apologized. "Anyway, Zoro's my special fallback plan if things go south."

"Then if that's all taken care of let's get this over with," Sanji resolved.

A moment later the Foxy Pirates' Party Organizer had received the Straw Hats' Roster.

"**IT'S TIME TO ANNOUNCE THE ROSTERS THAT EACH TIME HAS CHOSEN TO REPRESENT THEM IN TODAY'S EVENTS!**"

The Party Organizer was called **Itomimizu**. He was a thin man with a big mouth. He wore a long black and white striped cap that had eye holes cut in the brim to make it a Foxy Mask, a purple coat, yellow gloves and white pants. He carried a shoulder bag with a Transponder Snail on it.

"**FIRST UP!" **Itomimizu continued, **"COMPETING IN THE DONUT RACE, IT'S THE ENTIRE STRAW HAT CREW – MINUS THE FIRST MATE 'ONE EYE' RICKY!"**

"Did I ever tell you guys that I have a disease that prevents me from racing?" Usopp questioned.

"I don't wanna do this stupid thing either!" Nami berated him, "Just man up!"

"**PARTICIPATING IN ROUND TWO: THE GROGGY RING, ARE RICKY, SANJI AND TONY TONY CHOPPER!" **

"Any idea what a Groggy Ring is?" Sanji inquired.

"We've got to get a ball in a hoop," Ricky answered.

"I'm gonna try my hardest!" Chopper assured them.

"**AND PARTICIPATING IN ROUND THREE: THE ROUND, ROUND, ROUND, WE'VE GOT MONKEY D. LUFFY, NICO ROBIN, NAMI, USOPP AND RICKY!"**

"Looks like this is it," Robin noted.

"ALRIGHT!" Luffy cheered. "LET'S GO!"

"Hmm…"Foxy mused to himself as he sat in a chair on stage and surveyed the Straw Hat Crew. "The Captain, a treasure hunter, a swordsman, a navigator, a sniper, a cook, a doctor and an archeologist… So tough but I do have to decide who I'm going to take." A wide crafty smirk spread across Foxy's face. "I believe it'll be that one right there. Yes. That is the one I want."

"**ALRIGHT!"** the Party Organizer concluded, **"LET THE MERCILESS DAVY BACK BEGIN! A WINNER WILL BE A CROWNED WHILE THE LOSER WILL BE FORCIBLY DROWNED! I AM ITOMIMIZU! YOU MAY KNOW ME AS THE FOXY PIRATES' PARTY ORGANIZER BUT TODAY I WILL BE YOUR COMMENTATOR! OUR FIRST EVENT OF THE DAY IS ROUND ONE: THE DONUT RACE!"**

"How do you guys think we should team up?" Robin inquired.

"Considering a few of us have Devil Fruit Powers it would make sense to split up into teams of three or four people," Sanji reasoned.

"**LEGAL BOATS FOR THE DONUT RACE CAN ONLY BE CONSTRUCTED USING OARS AND THREE EMPTY BARRELS! YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED IF YOU USE ANY OTHER MATERIALS! THIS IS THE PERFECT CHANCE FOR SHIPWRIGHTS TO SHOW OFF. OH WAIT, THOSE GUYS DON'T HAVE ONE!"**

Itomimizu turned and tapped the assorted piles of barrels and oars that had been placed on stage.

"**IF YOU LEFT YOUR EMPTY BARRELS AT HOME COME ON UP HERE AND GET SOME! ALL FOR FREE 'CAUSE THAT'S HOW GENEROUS WE ARE!"**

"I'm not sure if three barrels in enough material to build a boat big enough to hold four of us," Robin noted as she eyed the supplies that had been provided.

"We've better go with three teams then," Zoro decided.

"I'm not involved in this event," Ricky stated. "But I'd suggest putting one Devil Fruit User on each team. That way there'll be someone to fish out the non-swimmers if you get sunk."

So while the Foxy Pirates began to work on their boats, the Straw Hats Pirates split into three teams and began constructing boats of their own.

**-x-**

"WHAT THE HELL!" Sanji yelled. He'd once again been stuck with Luffy. The Captain had completely dismantled all of their barrels and had the wood laid out on the grass in front of them. "YOU CAN'T JUST BUST 'EM UP LIKE THAT!"

"Sure I can," Luffy replied. "Just watch. I'm gonna make us a killer boat!"

**-x-**

**SLISH! **Zoro cut a barrel in half. He and Chopper were teaming together on this event.

**KONK! **Chopper clumsily smashed a hammer down on his hoof. "YAAAH!"

**-x-**

"Hurry up Usopp!" Nami snapped at the sniper.

"You know you could help too!" Usopp complained as he used one of his trusty hammers to nail some boards together.

"I'll lend a hand or two," Robin offered as extra arms sprouted out of the ground in front of Usopp and held the boards in place for him.

**-x-**

"**I'LL TAKE THIS TIME WHILE EVERYONE'S PREPARING TO EXPLAIN HOW THE RACE WORKS. THE COURSE CONSISTS OF ONE LAP AROUND LONG RING LONG LAND. IT MAY SOUND EASY BUT BELIEVE ME, ITS NOT! IF YOUR BOAT SINKS YOUR TEAM IS IMMEDIATELY DISQUALIFIED FROM THE RACE. OH YEAH! WEAPONS? THEY ALLOWED! GUNS, CANNONS, EXPLOSIVES, ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF! IF THAT SOUND UNFAIR, THEN YOU'VE GOT NO RIGHT AT ALL TO CALL YOURSELF A PIRATE!"**

"Phew," Usopp sighed as he surveyed their completed boat. "I'm kind of amazed that I finished."

**BLOOM! BLOOM! **Fireworks went off to signify that the race was going to start soon.

"**AND TIME IS JUST ABOUT UP!" **Itomimizu stated. **"I HOPE EVERYONE IS READY!" **

One of the Foxy Pirates went over to Itomimizu and handed him a sheet of paper.

"**OOO! GATHER 'ROUND FOLKS! THE FINAL ODDS ARE IN!"**

"By odds do you mean gambling odds?" Ricky inquired as he stood in front of the stage. "I've been looking all over and I can't find the bookie."

"**I'M THE FOXY PIRATES' BOOKIE AND PARTY ORGANIZER!"** Itomimizu informed him. **"BETTING FOR THE DONUT RACE IS ALREADY CLOSED BUT MAYBE YOU CAN TRY NEXT ROUND!"**

"You don't need to shout into that thing," Ricky stated. "I'm standing right here."

"**I'LL ANNOUNCE THE CONTESTANTS IN ORDER OF THEIR POPULARITY! TOP SPOT GOES TO OUR IDOL AND FELLOW FOXY PIRATE: PORCHE!"**

"Oh, you're too kind!" Porche exclaimed as she blew kisses to the adoring Foxy Pirates.

"**JOINING HER IS THE FISHMAN CAPOTE! THEIR VESSEL IS 'THE CUTIE WAGON' LED BY THE STAR SHARK MONDA!"**

**Capote** was a tall green swordfish fishman with a long, pointed green nose and long red hair. He wore a blue and purple Foxy Pirates' Cap, elbow length blue gloves and a yellow vest with blue shoulder pads.

**Monda **was a large orange shark with yellow stars covering his body. The shark wore a black and red Foxy Cap and was pulling a pink painted boat that looked like more of a chariot.

"YEAH!" a Foxy Pirate cheered. "TAKE 'EM DOWN PORCHE! YOU CAN DO IT!"

"HOLD ON!" Nami shouted from on top of the boat next to Porche. "YOU'VE GOT _A SHARK _PULLING YOUR BOAT?"

"I didn't hear him mention any rules about forbidding the use of sharks," Porche taunted.

"**THE SECOND MOST POPULAR TEAM… OH! WELL THIS IS A SURPRISE! IT'S THE STRAW HAT TEAM OF NAVIGATOR NAMI, SNIPER USOPP AND ARCHEOLOGIST ROBIN! THEIR OFFICIAL CRAFT IS 'THE BARREL TIGER'!"**

For the Barrel Tiger, Usopp had cut all three of the barrels in half and attached them together. Three of the barrel halves had been put together in a straight row while two others were attached to the side which gave the Barrel Tiger a cross-like shape. The final barrel half had been used to make a curved fin on the back which doubled as a seat.

"That chick with the orange hair is smokin' hot!" a Foxy Pirate exclaimed.

"I want that dark haired babe to join our crew!" another Foxy Pirate gushed.

"They can keep the guy," the first Foxy Pirate stated.

"Yeah," the other Foxy Pirate quickly agreed.

"**LOOKS LIKE THE ONLY THING OUR FOXY CREW CARES ABOUT ARE THE PRETTY GIRLS!"** Itamimizu noted. **"WHAT A BUNCH OF HORNBALLS!"**

"Hornballs?" Ricky repeated. "I voted for that one too mostly based on who's driving it too."

**Tmp! Tmp! **Nami stomped her foot on the Barrel Tiger, "You're sure this won't sink?"

"I keep telling you guys that I'm not a professional shipwright," Usopp reminded her. "I know that its at least better than those abominations."

Usopp looked over to see the 'abominations' that were being ridden by Luffy, Sanji, Zoro and Chopper.

Luffy and Sanji's sloppily constructed 'ship' was shaped like a long, thin sled and looked like the wood had all been randomly slapped together. It was almost completely flat with the exception being the two pieces of curled wood at the front.

"Just 'cause it floats doesn't mean it's a boat," Sanji grumbled. "It's more like flotsam."

"Shishishishishi!" Luffy laughed. "Flotsam!"

Zoro and Chopper's boat was a very different model. They'd kept their barrels mostly intact. The first barrel had been partially dissected to form a waterwheel. Chopper ran on the wheel to propel the boat forward. He held onto a smooth handrail that was coming out of the second barrel and the third barrel had been taken apart to make the small deck that Zoro was standing on as he operated the rudder behind him.

"You're gonna do that the whole time?" Zoro asked the running reindeer.

"Yup," Chopper answered as he continued to peddle the wheel in his Heavy Point form. "It's a good thing I enjoy running, huh?"

"It's a miracle those boats actually float," Robin remarked as she eyed their Nakama's 'ships'.

**Whap! **Nami slapped her forehead. "That means it's all on our shoulders if our crew's gonna win this race… as usual."

"**AND COMING IN THIRD ON OUR LIST IS 'THE HAREM NOCTURNE'! A BEAUTIFUL BOAT FILLED WITH BEAUTIFUL WOMEN!"**

The Harem Nocturne was smoothly designed so the back looked like a blooming flower. The raised petals of the 'flower' provided perfect seats for the all-female crew while the front half kept the view from being obstructed. The crew consisted of four sexy Foxy Pirates. One was blonde, one had mint green hair, one had pale orange hair and the last had pale purple hair. They also had a collection of wine bottles on the small table in the middle of the most round boat so that meant it wasn't designed to go particularly fast.

"**IN FOURTH PLACE WE'VE GOT 'THE CRAB CRANE', AN OLD FAVORITE IN THE TOP RANKS!"**

The Crab Crane was designed with two of the barrels cut in half and stuck together to seat the three-man crew. The third barrel had been used to make the rudder and the decorative crab legs, crab claws and stalk-like crab eyes.

"**IN FIFTH AND SIXTH PLACE ARE THE 'SWORDFISH KING ONE AND TWO'!"**

Swordfish King One and Two were identical with the exception of their paint color. The first ship was pale blue while the second was dark blue. Both ships were designed with three barrel halves attached together to sit three pirates single file. The left over barrel parts made up the rudders and the pointed 'swords' on the bow of each boat.

"**IN SEVENTH PLACE IS 'THE PARTY, LOVE AND PLEASURE BOAT'!"**

The Party, Love and Pleasure Boat had been made using large barrels. It was a big rectangular ship shaped like a ferry and had a bar in the middle of it with a large barrel half as an awning.

"HEY! WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?" Luffy complained. "AREN'T YOU EVEN GONNA MENTION OUR BOAT!"

"SAME HERE!" Chopper added. "WHAT GIVES? I WORKED HARD ON THIS!"

"Oooh… well let's see…" Itomimizu mumbled then raised his handset, **"AH! DOCTOR CHOPPER AND SWORDSMAN ZORO'S BOAT 'THE BASICALLY BARRELS' IS… HAHAHA! THEIR BOAT IS THIRD TO LAST IN POPULARITY!"**

"GAAH!" Chopper gasped in shock. They didn't like his boat?

"Sounds about right," Zoro admitted, "I was expecting worse."

"**AND THE 'AT LEAST IT FLOATS' BOAT-HAHAHA! LOOKS LIKE THEY WIN THE BOOBY PRIZE!"**

"Hey… what's a booby prize?" Luffy asked.

"It means our boat is second to last," Sanji told him.

"There can't seriously be a boat that's worse than there!" Usopp remarked.

"**COMING IN LAST ON THE LIST OF POPULARITY, WE'VE GOT THE GIANT BARGE 'THE BEHEMOTH MOTHER SHIP COASTER'!"**

"Eeep!" Usopp let out a high-pitched squeak of terror as a MASSIVE boat pulled up behind the Barrel Tiger. The boat was simply three HUGE barrels that had been attached together. One massive barrel was in front while other two massive barrels had been attached behind it.

"You're kidding me," Zoro scoffed, "The oars can't be long enough to row that thing."

"And how are they supposed to steer it?" Chopper wondered.

"Hahahaha!" a Foxy Pirate laughed as and his two teammates stood on top of the front barrel. "Yeah, you guys are sharp. You're right about the oars. Way too short. And the damn thing is filled with sea water too."

"Not fair," Luffy grumbled, "Those jerks."

"Wait, there's no way that thing is just three barrels," Sanji protested.

"Sure it is," one of the other Foxy Pirates replied. "That's all it is. We pieced together the three biggest barrels we could find. There ain't nothin' in the rule book about how small your barrel's gotta be."

"**OKAY! ALL OF THE BOATS ARE NOW AT THE STARTING LINE!"** The Foxy Pirates cheered at the first round finally getting underway. **"I'LL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE COMMENTARY THROUGHOUT THE RACE WITH A BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF THE ACTION FROM ON TOP CHIRP CHIRP A RARE SOUTH BLUE SUPER SPARROW."**

**Chirp Chirp** the Super Sparrow was a huge twenty foot brown sparrow with a blue and white striped Foxy cap on his head. Itamimizu hopped up onto the big bird's back.

"Hold on!" Ricky called out as he leapt up onto the stage. "I'm not just gonna stay here while everyone else races around the island. I'm gonna come along and provide color commentary."

"**WHA-WHAT?" **Itamimizu sputtered. **"HEY! THIS IS A ONE-PERSON SPARROW!"**

"Oh, I didn't really your big twenty-foot bird was just a big weakling," Ricky commented. "That pigeon probably couldn't handle the extra weight anyway."

**CHIRP! **Chirp Chirp took offense to that.

"**GET ON ALREADY!"** Itamimizu snapped. Ricky grinned and got on the big bird behind him.

**CHIRP-CHIRP! **Chirp Chirp flapped his wings and took off with the two pirates on his back.

"WOOO!" the Foxy Pirates cheered. "GO PORCHE!"

"YEAH! DROWN THAT LONG NOSE!"

"WHY _ME_?" Usopp yelped.

"That's it," Nami resolved, "We have to win this now."

"Drowning is fair play," Robin pointed out. "It's in the rules."

"Says the woman who can't swim," Nami growled.

"Wow, they think they have a chance at winning," Porche remarked.

"Let those fools think whatever they want to think Porche," Capote said with a smug smile. "We'll sink 'em right off the bat. Right Monda?"

**CHI-HEY! **The Star Shark agreed.

"I'm excited about this!" Chopper exclaimed.

"What? About losing?" Zoro questioned.

"Pay close attention Usopp," Sanji warned the sniper. "If anything happens to those two ladies, I'll eviscerate you."

"We _are _gonna win this race!" Luffy insisted. "I know it!"

"Fehfehfehfeh!" Foxy chuckled as he stood on the shore with Hamburg. "That fool! He actually thinks they're going to win! What a riot! No one's ever beaten the Foxy Pirates! I doubt this race will even last five minutes. Am I right?"

"Pupupupu!" Hamburg laughed as he held his hands over his mouth. "You know it!"

"**TO ENSURE YOU DON'T GET LOST, WE'RE PROVIDING EACH TEAM WITH AN ETERNAL POSE!" **Itomimizu turned back to Ricky. **"MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL AND TOSS THESE DOWN."**

Itomimizu and Ricky tossed Eternal Poses that were keyed to Long Ring Long Land down off of Chirp Chirp to the assorted ships at the starting line.

**Whap! **"Get lost?" Nami repeated as she caught their Eternal Pose.

**Whap! **Porche caught her team's Eternal Pose. **Whap!** Zoro caught the one for his team. **Whiff! **Luffy missed his Pose but Sanji managed to catch it before it fell into the water. **Whap!**

"**TRY NOT TO WANDER TOO FAR FROM THE ISLAND'S COAST!"**

"What's that doofus talking about?" Nami wondered. "Why would we leave the island? We're taking the inside track the whole way."

"I'm afraid it won't be that simple," Usopp said.

"What? Why not?" Nami questioned.

"Take a look," Usopp pointed out, "Except for that really big one, all the other boats are on the outside track facing out to the sea."

Porche's Cutie Wagon, their Barrel Tiger, Chopper and Zoro's Basically Barrels and Luffy and Sanji's At Least It Floats Boat were all pulled up alongside each other on the side of the starting line that was closest to the island.

The Crab Crane, the Harem Nocturne, the Swordfish King One and Two, and the Party, Love and Pleasure boat were all on the far side of the starting line that was away from the island.

"Mr. Long Nose has a point," Robin noted. "That's a big suspicious."

"**NOW ON YOUR MARKS…" **Itomimizu prompted.

"What's suspicious?" Nami asked them. "Tell me!"

"I don't know but I think they're up to something," Usopp insisted. He turned and called out to the other Straw Hats. "HEY! GET AWAY FROM THE SHORE LINE AS SOON AS THE RACE STARTS!"

"Huh? How come?" Luffy inquired.

"**GET SET…"**

"Scheme…" Foxy whispered as a wide fox-like smirk spread across his face.

**BANG! **Itomimizu fired the starting gun. **"GOOOO!"**

"I've got a really bad feeling about this!" Usopp exclaimed as he and Nami used their oars to paddle the Barrel Tiger away from the starting line.

"Then tell me why!" Nami urged him

The only ship that didn't start to move away from the starting line was the Behemoth Mother Ship Coaster.

"Push it-push it-push it!" eight Foxy Pirates on board chanted as they spun a control wheel.

"Time to reveal the secret of our boat!" the Foxy Pirate on top of the front barrel boasted. "It's got a sneaky little purpose!"

**Krek-krek-krek… **The spinning wheel caused the end of the front barrel to slide open.

**SPLOOOOSH! **The barrel was filled with sea water that came washing out as a huge wave that was filled with barrels.

"**HEY! WHAT'RE YOU…" **Itomimizu protested as Ricky pulled the handset away from him.

"**I just thought I'd chime in here,"** Ricky's magnified voice went through the Transponder Snail's speakers. **"Wasn't there are rule about only using three barrels? That big one just spat out at least a dozen."**

Itomimizu pulled the hand set back, **"THOSE ARE JUST EXTRA BARRELS! THEY DIDN'T USE THEM FOR THEIR SHIP!"**

"So what's with the barrels?" Sanji wondered as he watched the barrels from the Behemoth Mother Ship Coaster ride the wave towards them.

"Oh no!" Usopp gasped in alarm as the barrels came to their boat. "We didn't get far enough."

"What's the big deal?" Nami asked. "It's just a barrel." Nami reached out prodded one of the barrels with her oar.

"NOOO!" Usopp shrieked. "NAMI! DON'T!"

The barrel started to glow… AND EXPLODED! **KA-BOOOM! **

"WAAAAH!" Nami and Usopp screamed as the explosion sent their Barrel Tiger flying up into the air.

"Hey guys," Ricky greeted them as they flew up passed Chirp Chirp.

"**AND THEY'VE BEEN RELEASED! KA-BOOOM! THE OLD BARREL MINES! THE COASTER'S TRUMP CARD!" **Itomimizu smirked at Ricky. **"SEE? THEY'RE WEAPONS! AND ALL WEAPONS ARE LEGAL IN THE DONUT RACE!"**

"Bye guys," Ricky called out as the Barrel Tiger dropped back down passed Chirp Chirp.

**SPLOOSH! **Nami, Usopp and Robin splashed back down in the water with the Barrel Tiger mostly unharmed from the explosion.

"Heeheehee!" Porche giggled as she and Capote sailed passed them on the Cutie Wagon. "See you later, chumps! You're supposed to avoid sinking, ya know. Wish us good luck!"

"Uugghh…" the Barrel Tiger crew groaned as they attempt to recover from the explosion.

**Fwoo… fwoo… **Chopper frantically blew on one of the barrels to get it away from his Basically Barrels boat. "Go! Go away! I worked hard on this ship!"

"Dumb bombs," Luffy grumbled. His and Sanji's boat was right next to Chopper and they were both surrounded by barrel mines. "I'll knock 'em all back. GUUUM… GUUUM…"

"Cut it out Luffy," Sanji admonished him.

"STOP!" Chopper shouted. "ARE YOU TRYING TO BLOW US OUT OF THE WATER!"

"Calm down," Luffy told him, "We've gotta do something."

"Yeah but that something can't involve touching them," Zoro pointed out, "Luffy, toss that oar over here."

**Whiff! **Luffy shrugged and threw his oar over to Zoro.

"Stand back and watch," Zoro prompted as he held the oar out and started to spin it. **Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish! **Zoro's spinning oar created a breeze that started to blow the barrel mines away from their ships. **SWISH! **Zoro slashed the oar like a sword and the added gust of air sent the barrel mines sailing back the way they came.

"WAAAAH!" the Foxy Pirates on the Behemoth Mother Ship Boaster yelped as their barrel mines drifted back through the starting line towards their ship. "THEY'RE COMING BACK THIS WAY! WAAH! ABANDON SHIP!"

The Foxy Pirates scambled and dove off their ship. **Splash! Splash! Splash!**

**Tnk! **The first barrel mine hit the front of the Coaster. **KA-BOOOOM! **That barrel mine was quickly followed by the others. **KA-BOOOOM-BOOOOOM-BOOOOOOM-BOOOOOM!**

Ricky yanked the handset away from Itomimizu, **"I'll announce it if you won't. The Behemoth Mother Ship Coaster has been blown to smithereens! That means they're out of the race!"**

"GIVE THAT BACK!" Itomimizu snapped as he yanked the handset back from Ricky.

Sanji smiled as he watched the barrel mines blow up the Behemoth Mother Ship Coast but then his eyes widened in horror when he saw the huge wave that had resulted from the large collection of explosions.

"MISS. NAMI! MISS. ROBIN!" Sanji called out ahead of them. "LOOK! HIT THE DECK AND HOLD ON TIGHT! WE'VE GOTTA RIDE THIS WAVE!"

**SPLOOOOSH! **The Behemoth Coaster sank and made the wave get even bigger. **KROOOSH! **The wave washed right over the starting line and broke it apart.

"AAAAAHH!" Usopp screamed. "WE CAN'T RIDE THAT!"

**-x-**

**Donut Race:**

**-x-**

**SPLOOOOOSH! **The huge wave rushed forward and swept up the Basically Barrels and the At Least It Floats Boat as it rushed forward.

"YAHOO!" Luffy cheered as their boat surfed on the huge wave. "THIS IS AWESOME!"

**Chunk! **A piece of wood snapped off of Luffy's sloppy ship.

"Damn it, she's starting to break up on us!" Sanji warned Luffy.

"THIS IS TERRIFYING!" Chopper wailed as he frantically peddled the Basically Barrels.

"Man, that's cold," Zoro noted as crown of the wave curved up over their heads and dripped water down on them.

"WAAAH! NOT GOOD!" one of the Foxy Pirates shrieked as the Swordfish King One and Two were washed up over the wave. **SPLOOOSH!**

"HANG ON!" Nami shouted to Usopp and Robin. The Barrel Tiger was swept up by the wave and quickly caught up with the other Foxy Pirate boats.

"**I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"** Itomimizu cried out from just above the wave. **"THE STRAW HAT TEAMS ARE USING THAT WAVE TO ZIP TO THE FRONT OF THE RACE! THIS IS INCREDIBLE FOLKS!"**

"No way!" Porche gasped from the front of the pack, "They're about to catch up with us! Let's go Monda! Put every ounce of strength into it!"

**SHA! **The shark agreed as he started to swim faster.

"HEY YOU GUYS!" Porche called back to the Harem Nocturne and the Party, Love and Pleasure Boat. "We could really use some back up!"

"YEAH!" the men on the Party, Love and Pleasure boat cheered.

"Right!" the ladies on the Harem Nocturne agreed.

**WOOOOooooosssshhhh… **The wave gave out and Luffy and Chopper's boats slowed to a stop.

"Huff… huff…" Chopper panted as he shrunk back down to his tiny Hybrid form and hung from the handle bar. "It's finally died down."

"But it didn't exactly leave the raft in the best condition," Sanji noted as he eyed the bad condition of the already sloppy ship.

"SHISHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed. "That was fun! I hope something causes another wave!"

"SHUT UP!" Sanji snapped at him. "ANOTHER WAVE WOULD FLATTEN THIS LAME BOAT YOU BUILT! I just hope the girls are okay." Sanji looked right passed Zoro and Chopper on the Basically Barrels and spotted Nami and Robin on the Barrel Tiger. "There they are."

But before they could catch up the Party, Love and Pleasure boat pulled up alongside them.

"You guys looking for a party?" the crew on the Party, Love and Pleasure boat called out.

The Harem Nocturne pulled up on their other side.

"Well hello there gentlemen," the female crew greeted them.

"OOOH!" Sanji gasped with hearts in his eyes at the sight of the sexy Foxy Pirates.

"Huh?" Zoro grunted as he looked up at the Foxy Pirate on the Party, Love and Pleasure boat. "What do you want?" His hand went to his swords.

"Relax guys," the Foy Pirate reassured them. "This is a friendly visit.

"I hope you like fish and noodles," the bartender on the Party, Love and Pleasure boat called out as he set two plates on the counter in front of Luffy. "Free of charge."

"For real?" Luffy questioned. "How cool! Thank you!"

Sanji was in heaven as he found himself as the close embrace of the mint and orange haired female Foxy Pirates.

"Why is it that all the good cooks like you are already taken?" the orange haired woman flirted as she kissed Sanji on the cheek.

"Your curly eyebrows are so cute," the mint haired woman gushed as she practically sat in Sanji's lap.

"Ya know… I've gotta say…" the love-struck cook remarked, "With a crew like this… I won't mind if I get Davy Backed…"

Chopper hid behind his handle bars as one of the male Foxy Pirates smiled down at him.

"You must be exhausted, not to mention hot in that fur coat," he noted.

"IT'S NOT A FUR COAT!" Chopper yelled at him.

"Whoa, easy there, I'm sorry," the Foxy Pirate quickly apologized. "Let me make it up to you. Would a candy apple be a good start?" The Foxy Pirate grinned as he held out a red candy apple to the reindeer.

"What's a candy apple?" Chopper asked. "Is it sweet?"

**Tunk! **Zoro slammed an empty mug of grog down onto the counter. "Aaah, that's good stuff," he swordsman commented.

"Hey, we need another refill down here," one of the Foxy Pirates that was drinking with Zoro called out to the bartender. "The brew is on us so drink up."

"Thanks," Zoro replied. "You guys are alright."

"**UPDATE!"** Itomimizu called out as Chirp Chirp circled above the completely stopped Basically Barrels, At Least it Floats Boat, Harem Nocturne and the Party, Love and Pleasure boat. "**IT LOOKS LIKE THE PLEASURE BOAT AND THE HAREM NOCTURNE HAVE MADE THEIR MOVE, THE PARTY DISTRACTION. AND THEY'VE LURGED IN TWO STRAW HATS BOATS FOR A KO! WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT **_**COLOR COMMENTATOR**_**? HUH? YOUR GUYS FELL FOR IT HOOK, LINE AND SINKER."**

Ricky took the handset. **"Well they were lost causes from the start. Your guys had better watch out or they'll run out of food and booze. Besides, my boat's still in this race."**

Nami stood on the Barrel Tiger and glared back at her ensnared Nakama. "COME ON! WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A RACE YOU JERKS!"

"Heehee," Porche giggled as she smirked back at Nami. "You really shouldn't worry about those guys. If I were you I'd worry about my own boat right now." Porche turned to her fishman companion. "Alright Capote, give 'em a taste of your Fishman Karate."

"YEAH!" Capote cheered. "SURFACE SPLITTER!" Capote slash his arm down and chopped the water behind the Cutie Wagon. Capote used his fistman strength to cut straight through the water and sent a blast racing towards the Barrel Tiger. **SLOOOSH! **

**CHUNK! **Robin jumped to the side just as Capote's attack broke off the barrel she had been standing on.

"THE BOAT IS BREAKING APART!" Usopp yell in alarm.

"AAAH!" Nami shrieked as the Barrel Tiger rocked in the wave.

"**HEY SANJI!" **Ricky shouted into the handset he was still holding. **"Wake up! Nami and Robin are in trouble!"**

Sanji's eyes snapped open. "MISS. NAM! MISS. ROBIN!" Sanji bolted straight out of the Harem Nocturne and grabbed Luffy's collar and yanked him off the bar and back onto their boat. "Come on! The girls need our help! Let's go!"

"Chopper, let's move!" Zoro instructed as he jumped from the bar to the Basically Barrels.

"Huh?" Chopper asked with a mouth full of candy apple.

Itomimizu tore the handset away from Ricky. **"HEY! NO INTERFERING IN THE RACE!"**

"DON'T WORRY NAMI! I'M COMING ROBIN!" Sanji called out as he frantically paddled away from the Party Distraction towards the ladies in distress.

"WAIT! DON'T LEAVE US!" the orange haired Foxy Pirate called after him.

"COME BACK!" the blonde Foxy Pirate cried out.

"I'LL NEVER FORGET YOUR CURLY EYEBROW!" the mink haired Foxy Pirate vowed.

"Our balance… we've got to stay balanced…" Usopp warned Nami and Robin as the damaged Barrel Tiger rocked the way and threatened to capsize. Usopp pulled out his slingshot and fired it at Capote. "EAT THIS! FIRE STAR!"

**FWOO-swish! **Capote swatted Usopp's fire attack away. "No thanks!" he retorted.

Behind Usopp, Robin crossed her arms over her chest. "Ocho Fleur…"

Six arms grew out of Capote's big green body and wrenched his arms back.

"Grrr… what the…" Capote growled as he struggled against Robin's arms.

"Capote!" Porche called out in alarm.

"And FLIP!" The two final arms grew out of Capote's waist and touched the ground. **FWIP! **The two arms pushed off of the deck of the Cutie Wagon and launched Capote up into the air. **WHAM! **Capote slammed head first down on top of Monda.

"Perfect!" Nami exclaimed. "Now's our chance! Usopp, jump in the water and pull the boat."

"ARE YOU CRAZY!" Usopp snapped at her.

"Capote, Monda! Get it together!" Porche urged her shark and fishman.

"**ALRIGHT FOLKS, CURRENTLY IN THE LEAD IS EVERYONE'S ALL-TIME FAVORITE THE CUTIE WAGON!"**

**Yoink! **Ricky pulled the handset away from Itomimizu. **"But Nami, Usopp and Robin in the Barrel Tiger are gaining on them."**

"**HEY! GET YOUR OWN!"** Itamimizu complained as he yanked the handset back. **"AND IN THIRD PLACE IS THE CRAB CRANE!"**

Ricky leaned in and spoke into the handset anyway, **"The At Least It Floats Boat is in fourth and the Basically Barrels is behind them in fifth place!"**

**-x-**

"Okay," Foxy resolved on the shore. "I think it's about time that we get to work, Hamburg."

"Really?" Hamburg asked. "Oh boy, I was hoping you'd say that."

Foxy and Hamburg smirked at each other.

**-x-**

"Miss. Nami! Miss. Robin! Just hang tight!" Sanji said as he frantically padded the boat. "I'm gonna save you!"

Luffy sat on the back of the boat and stared at Sanji. Then his eyes drifted down and he spotted a broken piece of wood behind the cook.

"I just had the best idea ever!" Luffy announced. "Sanji, throw me that board!"

**SHOOOOOM! **Second later, the At Least It Floats Boat blasted off like it was a motorboat and streaked through the water.

"WHOA! THIS IS REALLY FAST!" Sanji exclaimed.

"I KNOW! RIGHT?" Luffy agreed as he leaned off the back and propelled the boat forward.

"I'M ON MY WAY!" Sanji shouted. "JUST HOLD ON LADIES!"

**-x-**

Zoro and Chopper were left behind as Chopper pumped the peddle wheel harder than ever. But they had no way in catching up with whatever Luffy had done to give his boat a big boost.

"We're getting nowhere here," Zoro pointed out. "I'm pretty sure we'd be faster if we paddled."

"Yeah well… the things is…" Chopper told him, "I kind of used the oars to make this handle."

**SWIIISH! **Zoro stiffened as he heard a boat approaching from behind them. He quickly drew his sword and slashed it. **SLISH-SLISH!**

**SHUNK! **The back barrel and the rudder of the Basically Barrels flew off and sunk onto the hard, pointed bows of the Swordfish King One and Two.

Zoro leaned back against the handrail while Chopper stared at the Foxy Pirates in shock.

"WHAT?" Chopper gasped. If Zoro hadn't shot the barrel onto those sharp points those sharp points would have gone through _them_.

"Heh heh heh," the Foxy Pirates chuckled.

**SKISH! **Zoro jumped from the Basically Barrels and landed on the front of Swordfish King One and Two.

"Not even a hello, huh?" Zoro remarked as he surveyed the six attacking Foxy Pirates.

"Not our style," the Foxy Pirate in the front of Swordfish King Two retorted. "We believe in winning any way we can."

"Really?" Zoro questioned. "Well, in that case…" Zoro drew two of his swords and crossed his arms. The blades were pointed outward like the horns of a bull. "BULL NEEDLES!" **SLISH-SLISH-SLISH-SLISH-SLISH-SLISH! **Zoro lunged forward and jabbed his swords into the six Foxy Pirates and their two ships.

**KROOOOM! **Swordfish King One and Two broke apart and the crew dropped into the water. **Splash! **Zoro landed in the water behind the wreckage he'd left in his wake.

"GO ZORO!" Chopper cheered as Zoro's short green hair broke the surface and looked just like the moss ball that Sanji always called him.

"GRR…" the lead Foxy Pirate on Swordfish King Two growled as he clung to the broken front of his ship. "If we're goin' down we're taking you with us!" **BANG! **He fired the pointed nose from Swordfish King Two at the Basically Barrels.

"CHOPPER! LOOK OUT!" Zoro warned the reindeer.

**BOOOOOM!** Swordfish King Two's nose pierced through the Basically Barrels and broke it to pieces. Chopper went crashing down into the sea with the wreckage of his ship. **SPLASH!**

**Sploosh… **Zoro dove underwater after Chopper.

"**THE BASICALLY BARRELS AND THE SWORDFISH KING BOATS HAVE BEEN SUNK! THEY'RE ALL OFFICIALLY DISQUALIFIED!"**

**Splish! **Zoro broke the surface with Chopper in his arms, "You okay?"

"They broke my boat… "Chopper cried. "I worked so hard on it."

"Hey, but you're okay so that's what matters," Zoro reminded him.

"Right, thank you Zoro," Chopper replied.

**-x-**

"You hear that?" Usopp asked Nami and Robin. "They're out of the race."

"Which means… we're our only hope…" Nami moped.

Robin seemed unconcerned as she was now sitting on the fin casually reading a book.

"Wait a sec!" Nami suddenly perked up. "Why don't we just use one of your Dials?"

"Oh, good idea!" Usopp agreed as he pulled out a shell. "We can give this Breath Dial a shot."

Usopp looked down and pressed Dial against the back of the Barrel Tiger with the opening facing outward.

**CHUNK! **"YAAAAAAHHH!" Usopp yelled in pain as a crab claw snapped closed on his wrist. He dropped the Dial and lurched backwards.

"USOPP!" Nami cried out in alarm. She looked passed him to see the Crab Crane and the three grinning Foxy Pirates that were driving it.

"Nice try!" one of the Foxy Pirates taunted. "But no one finished this race but Porche!"

"You… you…" Usopp stammered as he held his bloody wrist.

"Aw, is the baby gonna cry?" another Foxy Pirate mocked him.

"YOU MADE ME DROP MY DIAL!" Usopp yelled. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT WE HAD TO GO THROUGH TO GET THOSE THINGS?"

"Dial?" the first Foxy Pirate repeated. "You mean that shell? Ha! I knew it looked important. We were aiming to take your hand off but I guess making you lose your toy works too."

"TAKE THIS!" Usopp snapped as he pulled out his slingshot, "EXPLODING STAR!" **Shoo! **Usopp fired a round and it impacted with the middle of the Crab Crane, **KA-BOOOOOOM! **The Crab Crane exploded and the three Foxy Pirates dropped into the water.

"Whoa, Usopp!" Nami gasped. "What was that?"

"Oh, sorry," Usopp apologized. "I didn't mean to lose my cool."

"No, that was incredible!" Nami insisted.

Chirp Chirp flew overhead.

"**THE CRAB CRANE HAS BEEN DESTROYED AND IS NOW DISQUALIFIED!"**

Ricky pulled the handset away from Itomimizu, **"Way to go Usopp. The Pleasure Boat and the Harem Nocture have dropped out of the race. So that means the only ones left are Porche and the Cutie Wagon, Nami, Usopp and Robin in the Barrel Tiger and Luffy and Sanji that are coming in fast with the At Least It Floats Boat"**

"Alright so it's down to us and that chick with the fishman," Nami resolved. "Usopp, do you have another Dial to catch up with them? Maybe a Jet Dial?"

"Are you kidding?" Usopp exclaimed. "Do you know how rare those are?"

"How about an Impact Dial?" Robin suggested.

"You know… I think I must have left it back on the Merry," Usopp replied.

"…" Robin stared silently at Usopp.

"WHAT?" Usopp demanded. "You don't believe me? Oh come on! Do you genuinely think that I would lie about something this important? We're talking about losing one of our Nakama!"

"I didn't say anything," Robin stated.

"He's right," Nami said. "If we lose I just know they'll take me first. I just know it. Why do I have to be so cute?"

"**You could always try **_**winning**_**," **a voice overhead suggested.

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" Nami shouted up at him. "NOBODY ASKED YOU!"

**Swiff! **Robin casually sat down and went back to her book.

"Robin!" Nami complained, "This isn't the time to be reading!"

"I'm rowing too," Robin pointed out. She was using four extra arms to control Nami and Usopp's oars and paddle the Barrel Tiger forward.

"Well yeah, your hands are," Nami agreed, "But you're not really focused on it."

"This is important Robin!" Usopp insisted. "You've gotta work hard."

"I am working hard," Robin reminded him as she continued to multitask with paddling the boat and reading her book.

"Yeah, working hard at archeology," Usopp argued.

Up ahead, Porche twirled a baton and turned to Capote. "What do you think? Should we head for the finish line or should we enjoy sinking them first?"

"I enjoy casually strolling through the finish line as much as the next guy," Capote admitted, "But I want to make that woman suffer. Simply winning this thing ain't gonna be enough for me anymore."

"**AND THE RACE HAS OFFICIALLY ENTERED ITS CLIMACTIC MOMENTS!"**

"**He means all the fodder have been removed and its down to the ones that were going to win it from the beginning."**

"**SHUT UP! THE CUTIE WAGON IS HOLDING ONTO ITS LEAD SPOT BUT THE BARREL TIGER IS RIGHT BEHIND 'EM, AND THE AT LEAST IT FLOATS BOAT IS… HEY… WHERE'D THE AT LEAST IT FLOATS BOAT GO?"**

**SHOOOOOM! **The Luffy-propelled At Least It Floats Boat surged passed the Barrel Tiger. Sanji held back his oar which Nami grabbed and allowed the fast boat to pull them along.

**WOOOOOOSH! **The At Least It Floats Boat caught up with the Cutie Wagon.

"Fancy meeting you here," Sanji greeted Porche with a suave smile as they went passed.

"SEE YA, CHUMPS!" Nami taunted as the Barrel Tiger whizzed by after Luffy.

"HOW ARE THEY EVEN GOING SO FAST?" Porche exclaimed.

"Waaaahhh…" the Luffy-motor suddenly groaned. "No more strength…"

**SHOOOooooooommm… **The two Straw Hat boats slowed to a complete stop.

Luffy lumped over the end of the boat while his twisted rubber arms and broken board that he'd been using as a propeller dangled in the sea water.

"Gum Gum Screw…" Luffy mumbled as the contact with the water finally took its toll on him. "Fast but no fast no more… Sleep now…"

"I think he's given it all he's got," Robin observed.

"Hey, we've better get to paddling before we lose our edge!" Usopp reminded them.

**SWOOOOOOSH! **Monda shot passed them with the Cutie Wagon in tow. Capote was now seated in the back and had taken up the oars to increase their speed.

"Thanks for handing first place to us!" Porche mocked the Straw Hats as they went passed.

"Aw man," Nami complained. "And we just passed those guys."

"Hahaha!" Capote laughed as he paddled from the back of the Cutie Wagon. "And that's the last time you'll even see us! Huh? WHAT THE?"

Capote looked down to see that Robin had used a chain of arms to grab onto the back of the Cutie Wagon. Now the Foxy Pirates were dragging the two Straw Hat ships along behind them.

"How's this work for you?" Robin asked.

"Excellent Robin!" Nami cheered.

"THAT IS DOWN RIGHT CHEATING!" Capote yelled. The swordfish fishman pulled out a sword and swung at Robin's arm chain. "LET GO!" **SWISH! **Robin's arms disappeared and the fishman was overbalanced from his swing and toppled into the water. **SPLOOSH!**

"It's too bad they noticed so quickly," Robin remarked.

"Capote, no!" Porche cried out as she ran to back of the Cutie Wagon and peered into the water for any signs of the fishman.

**SPLOOSH! **Capote broke the surface and looked furious. "RAAH!" he roared. "THEY'RE GONNA PAY!"

"Are you guys ready to go again?" Nami turned and asked Sanji and… "Luffy?"

Luffy was still slumped mostly unconscious on the back of his boat.

"I get the feeling he's gonna be like this for a while," Sanji noted.

"Let's just keep paddling with all we've got," Usopp tried to rally the team. "We've got to catch up with 'em before they get an even bigger lead on us!"

"You're right," Nami agreed. "Let's paddle."

"I guess we'll be sinking them after all," Porche resolved as she spun her gold baton. A very wet Capote was behind her on the Cutie Wagon.

"**OOOH!" **Itomimizu gasped, **"THEY'RE NOW APPROACHING THE MOST FEARSOME OBSTACLES ON THE COURSE. FIRST IS THE LONG CORAL REEF AND JUST BEYOND THAT FORBODING AND DIFFICULT PATCH IS THE DREADED LONG RING WHIRLPOOL OF LONG CAPE!" **

Up ahead of the three boats was a coral reef with long pink coral that stuck out of the water for a good fifteen feet. Passed the coral reef was a large dark whirlpool and a patch of land that jutted out from the island.

"**OH AND WELL I'LL BE… TALK ABOUT UNEXPECTED!"**

**Yoink! "Guys, you've got company! I don't think they're here just to get a closer view."**

"What now?" Robin wondered. The Straw Hats looked towards the shore and a cloud of dust. The cloud was being kicked up by Hamburg as he ran along the shore line on all fours with Foxy riding on his back.

"**GIMME THAT! IT'S 'FULL DASH' HAMBURG AT FULL SPEED! AND RIDING ATOP HIM IS THE MASTER OF OBSTRUCTION HIMSELF, THE SCURGE OF FAIRNESS AND THE GREATEST SCOUNDREL OF ALL TIME, OUR BOSS: SILVER FOX FOXY!"**

"It's him!" Nami realized as she stared at the Foxy Pirates Captain as he rode along the shore.

"I've just come up with a brilliant idea," Foxy boasted.

"**From that flattering description the loudmouth just gave, it looks like you guys are going to have to deal with some interference."**

**-x-**

**Interference:**

**-x-**

"**THIS RACE IS REALLY HEATING UP!" **Itomimizu announced from overhead. **"THE NEXT COURSE OBSTACLE THE LONG CORAL REEF IS DEAD AHEAD! LEADING THE RACE IS PORCHE AND THE CUTIE WAGON! PERSUING CLOSE BEHIND ARE THE STRAW HATS IN THE BARREL TIGER AND AT LEAST IT FLOATS!"**

"Whoa, they're like Chopper's antlers!" Luffy remarked as he eyed the tall tree-like pieces of pink coral up ahead. He had recovered from his contact with the water and was now paddling his sloppy boat along with Sanji.

"Why is the coral in this reef so long?" Robin wondered.

"And why's it sticking out like that?" Sanji added. "Let's just get through it."

"Look," Nami pointed out. "The reef is causing some unusual currents to form." Under Nami's direction the Straw Hats stared ahead of them and noted the currents that were swirling around the large pieces of coral. "Going in blind's not a good idea."

"Ugh, I can't believe this stupid race has lasted this long," Porche complained.

"We're counting on you Monda," Capote urged the star shark.

**SHIII **Monda put on a burst of speed and surged ahead towards the Long Coral Reef.

"**AND DON'T FORGET!" **Itomimizu added, **"THERE'S SOMEONE ON LAND LOOKING FOR EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO SABATAGE THIS RACE! OUR BOSS, SILVER FOX FOXY!"**

"**Are you sure that's legal?" **Ricky asked as he leaned in towards the handset.

"**OF COURSE IT IS! EVERYTHING'S LEGAL IN THE DONUT RACE!"**

"**It doesn't seem very sportsman-like though. He wants to get involved but he's too scared to actually compete. Sounds like Foxy's a chicken."**

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Foxy shouted up into the air. "I'M NOT SCARED!"

"Pupupupu," Hamburg laughed, "I think he hit the nail on the head…"

"**HE'S JUST KIDDING SIR!" **Itomimizu reassured the self-conscious Captain. **"WE ALL LOVE YOUR ANTICS AND HOW YOU'RE ALWAYS THERE TO SUPPORT US! I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOU HAVE IN STORE FOR US!"**

Foxy perked back up and laughed, "Fehfehfehfeh! I've got something special in store for those Straw Hats!"

"Yeah! Get 'em boss!" the Foxy Pirates cheered as they listened to the race from the carnival at the starting line.

"**WAIT! WHAT'S THIS? THE STRAW HATS ARE SLOWING DOWN."**

"Come on Nami!" Usopp urged the navigator. "Keep rowing!"

"Not yet," Nami told him.

"Not yet?" Usopp repeated. "They're getting even further ahead of us!"

"I know, okay," Nami replied, "We're not going in yet." She turned and looked back at the Captain and the cook. "Sanji, you wait here too."

"Anything you say, Nami-dear!" Sanji happily agreed.

"**THE CUTIE WAGON TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY AND PLUNGES FORWARD INTO THE LONG CORAL REEF."**

"LET'S GO MONDA!" Porche called out.

**SHIII! **Monda sailed ahead into the forest of pink coral.

**SWISH! **But the strong spiraling currents took control of the Cutie Wagon and whipped it around the coral.

"WAH! WHAT'S HAPPENING?" Porche yelped.

**SWOOOOSH! **The current spat the Cutie Wagon right back out of the coral.

"Huh, they came back," Usopp noted.

"**WHAAAT? THE CUTIE WAGON HAS BEEN PUSHED BACK OUT OF THE REEF! WHAT'S HAPPENING DOWN THERE?"**

"**Don't look at me. When it comes to navigation that brilliant woman is on a whole different level. The rest of us just hang on for the ride."**

"I don't understand!" Porche whined. "What happened?"

"See, I knew there was something weird about those currents," Nami pointed out. "NOW! LET'S GET GOING USOPP!"

"Right," Usopp agreed as he started paddling.

"YOU TOO SANJI!" Nami called out behind them. "Pick up the pace and follow me!"

"Aye-aye!" Sanji replied as he and Luffy started to paddle after the others.

"Let's try this again Monda," Porche prompted the star shark.

"Come on!" Nami ordered Usopp as they paddled passed the Cutie Wagon.

"**WHAT'S THIS? THE STRAW HATS ARE PICKING UP SPEED. ALL THREE BOATS ARE ABOUT TO ENTER THE LONG CORAL REEF AT THE SAME TIME."**

The three boats entered the coral reef but only one was immediately spat back out.

"WHY DOES THAT KEEP HAPPENING?" Porche demanded.

"**WOW! THE BARREL TIGER AND AT LEAST IT FLOATS HAVEN'T BEEN PUSHED BACK OUT."**

Foxy stood on the shore and watched the two Straw Hat boats snake their way through the forest of tall pink coral.

**SHOOO! **An arrow was shot from the shore and hit a piece of coral ahead of the Barrel Tiger. **FWOOOOOSH! **A thick cloud of smoke sprayed out from the arrow and covered the reef.

"HEY! I CAN'T SEE!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Fehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed as he stood on shore with his bow.

"**HA-HA! THERE IT IS! THE DEVILISH INTERFERENCE WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR."**

"You've gotta be kidding," Sanji complained. "What's that idiot up to?"

"Hey, I can't see where we're going," Luffy pointed out.

"And there you have it!" Foxy boasted. "Operation White Out is a success! Let's see how you navigate through that reef WHEN YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE IT!"

"You sure it worked?" Hamburg asked. "Pupupupu!"

**WHISH! **The two Straw Hat boats sailed straight out of the smoke cloud and further into the Long Coral Reef.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Foxy's eyes bugged out as he watched his brilliant plan go up in smoke. Well, it was supposed to go up in smoke but it hadn't worked.

"**THEY MADE IT THROUGH WITH NO TROUBLE AT ALL! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?"**

"Pupupupu!" Hambrug laughed and pounded the ground with his hand. "I called it!"

"**Hey Foxy, if that's the kind of lame interference we can count on from you, I don't know why I was worried."**

"He… he thought my plan was lame…" Foxy whimpered and hung his head.

"**INCREDIBLE! THE STRAW HATS ARE SAILING THROUGH THE LONG CORAL REEF WITH EASE!"**

"**And the Cutie Wagon still can't even make it more than five feet in."**

"**YOU SHUT UP!"**

"Hey, the boat is moving on its own," Usopp realized. He and Nami had stopped paddling as the Barrel Tiger weaved its way through the forest of coral. "What's going on here Nami?"

"This place is a maze of currents," Nami explained. "That giant whirlpool ahead of us is causing smaller whirlpools to form in the reef. That's what's causing these strange currents. So it doesn't matter if we can't see. Their course won't change. We took the right entrance so the currents will guide the boat along all by themselves."

"INCREDIBLE!" Usopp exclaimed. "You're a miracle! That's what you get when you've got the Best Navigator in the Grand Line on your crew! TAKE THAT!"

"NAMI-SWAN!" Sanji practically sang. "YOU'RE AMAZING!"

"**And thanks to Nami the Barrel Tiger and At Least It Floats have taken the two top spots while the Cutie Wagon has fallen all the way back to third place."**

"**I SAID SHUT UP! THEY WON'T BE CELEBRATING FOR LONG! ONCE THEY'RE OUT OF THE REEF THEY'LL HEAD STRAIGHT INTO THE LONG RING WHIRLPOOL!"**

"Long reef, long ring," Usopp muttered, "It's just one long thing after another!"

"Alright Usopp, hurry up and use it," Nami prompted.

"Use what?" Usopp asked.

"The Impact Dial," Nami replied.

"But I don't have it with me though!" Usopp insisted. "Nononono!"

"Oh yeah?" Nami retorted, "Then what's this?" Nami pulled out the Impact Dial that she'd stolen out of Usopp's bag when he hadn't been looking.

"What the-when did-how did you…" Usopp sputtered as Nami shoved the Dial up against his long nose.

"Come on," Nami said, "If you don't use it soon we'll be sucked down into that giant whirlpool."

"But those things are supposed to hurt the person that uses them!" Usopp protested. "If I use it I'll break my shoulder!"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Nami told him.

"THAT'S BECAUSE ITS _MY _SHOULDER!" Usopp snapped.

"Impact Dial!" Luffy and Sanji encouraged Usopp from behind.

"Come on!" Nami urged him. "We're running out of time here!"

"So that's why you've been acting so calm!" Usopp realized. "You've had this planned from the very beginning didn't you?"

"If you don't do it we'll die!" Nami reminded him.

"Well… it's been a nice life…" Usopp whimpered.

Robin stood up and crossed her arms, "Viente Fleur…" A long chain of arms sprouted out of the back of the Barrel Tiger and grabbed onto At Least it Floats. "Now, do it Mr. Long Nose."

"Do it my butt…" Usopp growled, "Fine then…" Usopp stretched his hand down and slapped the Dial against the back of the Barrel Tiger. "IMPACT!"

**SHOOOOOM! **The Barrel Tiger was blasted forward into the whirlpool and dragged Luffy and Sanji along behind them.

"**THE BARREL TIGER AND AT LEAST IT FLOATS HAVE PICKED UP SOME TREMENDOUS SPEED!"**

"**Way to take one for the team Usopp."**

"**WAIT! THEY HAVEN'T JUST INCREASED SPEED! **_**THEY'RE FLYING!"**_

**WHOOOOOSH!** The two Straw Hat boats flew straight over the eye of the whirlpool and quickly cleared the rest of it.

The Barrel Tiger arced up over the top of the long stretch of land behind the whirlpool.

"**THEY'RE LEAPING RIGHT OVER LONG CAPE!"**

"**And the Cutie Wagon still hasn't even made it into the Long Coral Reef. The Straw Hats are going to win this race with a one-two finish."**

**KRAK! **"Ah!" Sanji gasped as the worn wood at the front of At Least It Floats broke off in Robin's extra hands. "Oh crap!" With the Barrel Tiger no longer pulling them along, Luffy and Sanji started to plummet downward. "OHCRAPOHCRAPOHCRAP! THIS ISN'T GOOD! WAAAH!"

"Oops, it broke," Robin remarked.

**SPLOOSH! **The Barrel Tiger splashed down on the far side of Long Cape while At Least It Floats crashed down _on _Long Cape and broke apart. **KROOOSH!**

"**HA-HA! THERE GOES YOUR ONE TWO FINISH! AT LEAST IT FLOATS HAS CRASHED ON LONG CAPE AND BROKEN INTO PIECES. IT CAN NO LONGER CONTINUE THE RACE. THEY'RE NOW DISQUALIFIED."**

"I'm so sorry, Nami, my dear!" Sanji called after the Barrel Tiger. "Don't worry about us! Just continue the race!"

"Okay, we will," Nami replied. She grabbed a paddle while Robin grabbed the other and they paddled off ahead.

"**When you think about it this race was always going to come down to the Barrel Tiger and the Cutie Wagon. After that last maneuver the Straw Hats have gained a huge lead. They've cleared all three obstacles while the Cutie Wagon hasn't even gotten through the Long Coral Reef yet."**

Porche and Capote glared up at the Super Sparrow and the Straw Hat commentator.

"We were way too easy on them!" Capote growled. "Hang on tight Porche!"

"I'm counting on you," Porche replied.

**SKISH! **Capote leapt off the front of the Cutie Wagon. "COMBINE! TWO FISH ENGINE!" Capote came down and landed in Monda's mouth. The swordfish fishman started to paddle his big green arms while the star shark flailed its fins and along with him.

**SHOOOOOOM! **With the power of a fishman and a shark combined the Cutie Wagon surged into the Long Coral Reef and tore through the currents like they were nothing.

"**HA-HA! SEE THAT? THEY'RE NOT OUT OF THE RACE YET! USING FISHMAN MUSCLE AND THE FINS OF A SHARK THE CUTIE WAGON HAS DOUBLED ITS SPEED! THEY'RE BLAZING THROUGH THE CORAL AND CLOSING THE GAP! THIS RACE IS FAR FROM OVER!"**

"USOPP!" Nami yelled down at the sniper as she and Robin's extra arms paddled their boat. "GET UP AND START PADDLING!"

"Your arm seems to be bending the wrong way," Robin noted.

"WAAAAH!" Usopp screamed. One arm was nearly broken while the other wrist was still bleeding from getting clamped by the Crab Crane. "Now both my arms are hurt!"

"What is that?" Robin asked as she stared off the front of the boat.

Nami turned to look and saw a wooden sign in the water in front of them that read 'Donut Race – Turn Right'. "It looks like a course marker."

"Turn right…" Robin recited.

"Huh, I guess we'll turn right then," Nami remarked. **WHAM! **She lashed out and smashed her fist through the sigh. "LIKE HELL WE WILL!"

"Gaah!" Foxy gasped as his fake sign went flying passed his head.

"**SHE BROKE IT! OUR BOSS' PLOY NUMBER 18: OPERATION FAKE DETOUR HAS FAILED! WHAT A FORMIDABLE WOMAN. DOES SHE NOT BELIEVE IN ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD?"**

"CAN IT JACKASS!" Nami yelled up at the announcer.

"**A weak trick like that will never work on Nami. She saw right through it."**

"YOU SHUT UP TOO, BASTARD!" Nami snapped.

"**Hey, don't rope me in with him."**

"**WOW, AND SHE'S FOUL MOUTHED TOO. THE RACE CONTINUES WITH THE BARREL TIGER MAINTAINING ITS STRONG LEAD."**

**SPLOOSH! **Suddenly a jet of water shot up in front of the Barrel Tiger like a geyser.

"WAH!" Usopp yelped as the Barrel Tiger shot upward then came down and was immediately blasted back up by another tall geyser. **SPLOOOSH!**

"WHAT ARE THESE COLUMNS OF WATER?" Nami shrieked in alarm as the Barrel Tiger was blasted up and down by a series of the geyser like waves.

"**THEY ARE NOW CLEARING THE LONG WAVES. THOSE ARE THE SIGNATURE WAVES AROUND LONG RING LONG LAND THAT REACH HIGH INTO THE SKY!" **

"Is that supposed to be natural?" Usopp wondered once they had finally cleared the long waves.

"Oh grandma…" An ugly little boy that looked a lot like Hamburg was crying on the shore as he knelt over his sick grandma who had Foxy's signature nose. "Oh boss—I mean, oh grandma…"

"Ahhh… my time on this earth is over…" 'grandma' groaned on the ground.

"**THE BOSS UNLEASHES HIS THIRD NASTY TRICK!"**

Nami sailed the Barrel Tiger right passed the crying boy and his grandma.

"HEY! DYING OLD LADY OVER HERE!" 'grandma' shouted after them.

"**UNBELIEVABLE! SHE COMPLETELY IGNORED A CHILD AND HIS SICK GRANDMOTHER. WHAT A COLD HEARTED ICE QUEEN!"**

"I TOLD YOU TO CAN IT!" Nami spat. "I'D NEVER FALL FOR A RIDICULOUS TRICK LIKE THAT!"

"**I'm not allowed to call her cute anymore so I'll just say she's feisty."**

"DAMN RIGHT YOU'RE NOT!" Nami snapped.

"HEY LOOK!" Usopp exclaimed. "It's the finish line!" Up ahead was a banner that read 'GOAL' in big red letters. The crowd was strangely absent.

"**THIS RACE WILL SOON BE DECIDED!"**

"NOT SO FAST!" Porche called out. The Cutie Wagon had cleared the other obstacles while the Straw Hats were dealing with Foxy's antics and now the Barrel Tiger's lead was shrinking.

"**THE CUTIE WAGON IS CLOSING IN QUICKLY! THESE ARE THE FINAL MOMENTS OF ROUND ONE'S DONUT RACE! WHO… WILL… WIN?"**

**-x-**

**Foxy the Silver Fox:**

**-x-**

"**WHO… WILL… WIN?"**

"I already told you…" Nami sang, "THESE LAME TRICKS WON'T WORK!" **KRACK! **Nami lashed out her fist and broke one of the support beams for the 'GOAL' banner.

"Aah-aahh…" Foxy gaped in shock on the shore as Nami completely no-sold his fake banner.

"Pupupupu!" Hamburg found the whole situation hilarious and laughed behind Foxy's back.

"**SHE EVEN SEES THROUGH OPERATION FAKE GOAL! FORMIDABLE! TRULY FORMIDABLE!"**

"COME ON!" Nami barked at Usopp as they paddled through the fake goal sign and continued the race.

"**AND NOW, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR HER!" **Itomimizu announced as Chirp Chirp flew over the Barrel Tiger. **"WHAT IS IT LIKE TO GO THROUGH LIFE SO JADED?"**

"PISS OFF!" Nami yelled up at the loud mouth announcer.

"**IT'S TOO LATER FOR HER! HER HEART IS COLD! SHE HAS NO SOUL!"**

"**You know, she's been a major bitch to me lately so part of me thinks I should let those comments slide. But on the other hand…"**

**POW! **

"WAAAAAHHH!" Itomimizu screamed as he went flying off of Chirp Chirp. **KRASH! **And landed on the Barrel Tiger.

Nami stood in front of him with an evil aura flaring around her.

"HEY! I WAS JUST KIDDING!" Itomimizu assured her. "BUT IF YOU ATTACK ME YOU'LL JUST BE PROVING ME RIGHT!"

**Swish-swish! **Nami swung her paddle like a bow staff then spun and drove the flat end into the loud mouthed announcer's face. **KER-RACK! **Itomimizu went flying off of the Barrel Tiger and crashed down onto the shore of Long Ring Long Land unconscious. **WHUMP!**

"**What a slobber knocker!" **Ricky commented up on Chirp Chirp with Itomimizu's Snail. **"It appears that Itomimizu has fallen off the sparrow and is now unconscious. I guess this means that I'll have to take over on commentary for the remainder of the race. Let's go bird, you've still got a job to do."**

"That was sweet of him," Robin remarked. Nami spun around to stare at her, "He practically giftwrapped that loud mouth for you."

"Whatever," Nami wrote it off, "Let's get back to the race."

"The real goal must me nearby," Robin reasoned. "We're getting close."

"I'm not using that Dial again!" Usopp insisted. His arm had only just recovered.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Nami replied.

"**The Barrel Tiger is racing towards the goal. But it looks like there actually is someone stupid enough to fall for that fake goal scheme. The Cutie Wagon has come to a complete stop. Talk about your all-time backfires."**

"Wait? What's going on?" Porche questioned as she stared at the fake goal line in confusion. "Who won the race?"

"Where did everybody go?" Capote wondered.

"**Looks like the only ones stupid enough to fall for that fake goal are the Foxy Crew."**

"WHAT? YOU MEAN THIS GOAL IS A FAKE?" Porche shrieked.

"WHO WOULD DO SOMETHING SO EVIL?" Capote demanded.

"He… he called my tricks stupid…" Foxy whimpered as he slumped on the ground.

"Maybe they are, none of them worked," Hamburg pointed out. "Pupupupupu!"

"Those guys are complete idiots!" Nami remarked as she and Usopp frantically paddled. "I'd die of embarrassment if I lost to one of them."

"They'd take one of our crew too!" Usopp reminded Nami of. "That's worse!"

"**The Barrel Tiger has increased their lead and according to this map that Itomimizu left behind, they are now approaching the Long Bamboo Cape. The real goal is just beyond it. The Straw Hats are in the home stretch!"**

"What do you know, he's right," Nami realized, "There's the finish line!"

"WAIT UP!" Porche shouted as she raced after the Barrel Tiger. Monda was still pulling the Cutie Wagon but Capote had gone back to paddling from the back.

"THEY'RE CATCHING UP TO US!" Usopp exclaimed.

"There's no way we'll beat them at this speed," Robin pointed out.

"I've got an idea," Nami announced, "Usopp, can you shoot down that bamboo?"

"Bamboo?" Usopp repeated. "Sure." Usopp drew his slingshot and stretched it back. "Alright!" **BOOM! BOOM! **Usopp rounds exploded and two of the thirty foot high bamboo stalks started to fall over. "Like that?"

"Yeah, but more!" Nami instructed.

"CAPOTE! MONDA! MOVE IT!" Porche yelled. "FULL SPEED AHEAD! WE'LL RAM THEM AND SINK THAT STUPID BOAT TO THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN!"

**SHOO! **Usopp fired another batch of exploding rounds from his slingshot. **BOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM! **The rounds exploded and toppled another bunch of bamboo. "TAKE THAT!"

"WAAAAHH!" Porche wailed as they passed underneath the falling bamboo. **KRASH-SPLOOSH! **The tall bamboo stalks crashed down onto and all around the Cutie Wagon.

"BINGO!" Nami cheered.

"**Thanks to some skillful shooting from sniper Usopp, the Straw Hats have slowed down the Cutie Wagon using the long bamboo. It looks like they knocked out that fishman!"**

"Oh no! Capote!" Porche gasped as she knelt over the unconscious swordfish fishman. He had a large lump on his head. "Say something!" Porche growled as she glared after the Barrel Tiger. "I'VE HAD IT! THEY'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS!"

"**Heads up guys, I think she's using that baton of hers as a weapon."**

"CUTIE BATON!" Porche shouted as she spun her gold baton around at her side. A dozen roses flew out from the baton.

"What's that?" Usopp asked as they looked back at Porche. "Some kind of magic flower trick?"

"FLOWER SHURIKEN!" **WOOOSH! **Porche lashed out her baton and sent the flowers flying ahead of her at the Straw Hats.

"Oh, Flower Shirken-WAAH! FLOWER SHURIKEN!" Usopp yelped as sharp blades popped out of the flowers as they flew at the Barrel Tiger. "LOOK OUT!"

**WHUP! WHISH! SHUNK! **Nami dove for cover while Usopp held his arsenal bag up in front of his face. But while the Straw Hats had managed to avoid getting hit one of the shuriken had pierced through the back of the Barrel Tiger.

"Oh no," Robin gasped as water flowed through the hole. "We've sprung a leak!"

"**The Barrel Tiger's been hit. They're taking on water!"**

"Don't worry, we can make it," Nami insisted. "We're almost to the goal! Keep paddling!"

Up ahead was the Foxy Pirates' ship the Sexy Foxy. The real goal banner was just ahead of it.

"**Both boats have made it almost all the way around the island. The finish is in sight. The first round of the Davy Back Fight is quickly coming to an end!"**

"COME ON PORCHE!" the Foxy Pirates on the shore cheered on the Crew Idol.

"Keep going Monda!" Porche encouraged the star shark while Capote still laid unconscious behind her. "We can't let them beat us!"

**SHIIII! **Monda shrieked and put on another burst of speed.

"We're going to lose if we don't do something!" Foxy said as he rode Hamburg along the shore. "Bring us up alongside them!"

"Right boss," Hamburg agreed.

"I can't see!" Chopper complained as he jumped and tried to see over the crowd of Foxy Pirates at the finish line. Zoro sat nearby and drank some grog.

"Made it just in time," Sanji remarked as he and Luffy pushed through the crowd.

"Alright!" Luffy cheered. "Nami's team is winning!"

"Robin-baby! Nami-my darling!" Sanji swooned, "You look so hot when you're going fast!"

Chopper managed to crawl through a Foxy Pirate's legs and popped up next to Luffy.

"Man, you guys almost won," the Foxy Pirate commented with a smug grin.

"What do you mean?" Luffy challenged him. "We're totally gonna win."

"Hahaha!" another Foxy Pirate laughed. "Not so fast. Look over there. Our boss is coming."

"Yeah? So what?" Luffy questioned. "What can he do?"

"Our boss is like you," the second Foxy Pirate explained. "He has Devil Fruit Powers."

"**Look out guys! You've got company! And it's not the Cutie Wagon!"**

On Ricky's warning, Nami turned and spotted Foxy running along the shore.

"What's he doing?" Nami wondered.

Foxy sat on top of Hamburg and held out his hand with his middle ring fingers touching his thumbs and his index and pinky fingers extended upward. The tips of his fingers glowed purple.

"SLOW SLOW BEAM!"

"**LOOK OUT! HE'S FIRING A BEAM!"**

"A beam? COOL!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Not cool!" Nami snapped. "It's coming right for us!"

The purple beam flew out and engulfed the Barrel Tiger before they could dodge.** FWOOSH!**

Monda surged through the finish line and pulled the Cutie Wagon after him.

"**And the winner is… the Cutie Wagon…"**

"YEAH!" the Foxy Pirates cheered as Porche crossed the finish line. Capote was still unconscious. "PORCHE'S THE HERO OF THE RACE! THAT'S OUR IDOL!"

"Thanks everyone!" Porche gushed as she waved to her adoring crew. "It's only natural I won!"

"Looks like we're about to get a new crew member!" a Foxy Pirate boasted.

"There's no one that can beat the Foxy Pirates!" another Foxy Pirate bragged. "We always win."

Nami, Usopp and Robin panted just short of the finish line.

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed. "NOW YOU GUYS HAVE TO PAY UP! WE'RE TAKING ONE OF YOUR CREW!"

"Are you guys alright?" Chopper asked one the Barrel Tiger crew had been brought ashore. "Is everybody okay?"

"We're alright," Robin confirmed.

"What the heck happened out there?" Luffy asked.

"I'd like to know the same thing," Nami answered.

"We'd all like to know what happened," Usopp added, "Did we really lose somehow?"

**SWOOOSH! **Chirp Chirp swooped down and Ricky hopped off of the Super Sparrow's back.

"Foxy hit you guys with that beam and you just slowed down," Ricky explained. "Porche passed you while you were basically standing still five feet away from the finish line."

"Fehfehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed as he strutted over to the Straw Hats. "That's what happens when anything get hits with my Slowmo Photons."

"What'd you do to Nami's team you smug bastard!" Sanji snarled,

"What's a slow-mo pho-tone?" Luffy asked.

"They are particles unlike any other known to modern science," Foxy answered. He held off his hands in the familiar pose and his finger-tips glowed purple. "Whatever this light touches be it an animal, a liquid, a solid or even a gas will lose a fixed amount of its velocity while simultaneously losing all its other energy."

"You're dumb," Luffy said. "That makes no sense at all."

"He… he called me dumb…" Foxy moped and cried.

"Oh sir, are you okay!" Porche gushed as she ran over and passed Foxy on the back.

"Luffy, he ate a Devil Fruit," Ricky told him. "He can make beams out of slowmo photons which slow down everything that they touch."

"Oh, that makes sense," Luffy replied. "Why didn't he just say that from the beginning?"

"No it doesn't!" Nami snapped. "Something like that is impossible!"

"Have you ever known a Devil Fruit to make sense?" Ricky pointed out. "This is the Grand Line. Impossible things happen here all the time."

"Now I'm a Slow-Motion Man!" Foxy bragged, "Observe!"

**BANG! **Hamburg fired a bazooka at Foxy from nearby.

Foxy held out his hand and fired a purple beam of slowmo photons at the approaching cannonball. **FWOOSH! **

The cannonball slowed to a near stop and hung in the air as it slowly drifted forward.

"GAH! A FLOATING CANNONBALL!" Usopp gasped.

"The Slow Slow Beam!" Foxy stated. "Fehfehfeh! The effect lasts about thirty seconds. After that time the object will regain its original speed as if nothing ever happened. Fehfehfehfeh!"

"Twenty-five… twenty-six…" Ricky quietly counted.

"Can't believe your eyes I take it!" Foxy continued to boast as the cannonball drifted in front of his face.

"Thirty…"

The cannonball regained its original speed and impacted with Foxy's long nose. **KA-BOOOM! **

"BOSS! OH NO!" Porche gasped.

"Pupupupu!" Hamburg laughed. "He was too caught up in showing off."

"So that's why we didn't win the race," Usopp realized.

"And that explains why they're so overly confident about these games," Sanji noted. "What a joke of a Devil Fruit Power."

"It doesn't matter!" Porche snapped. "You guys lost! You know all the rules and you agreed to all the terms!"

Foxy recovered from the explosion and popped back up, "That's right! The Donut Race is over! AND WE ARE THE WINNERS!"

"Heehee," Porche giggled. "Too bad for you guys."

"HEY YOU!" Itomimizu stomped over to the Straw Hats. "GIMME BACK MY BIRD!"

Ricky shrugged, "I hate birds anyway."

**-x-**

"**AND THAT CONCLUDES ROUND ONE!" **Itomimizu announced on stage. **"NOW WE SHALL COMMENCE WITH THE AWARDING OF THE PIRATE. THE WINNING CAPTAIN WILL SELECT A MEMBER OF THE OPPOSING CREW!"**

"Fehfehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed as he strutted to the front of the stage.

The Straw Hats scowled as they stared up at Foxy. Most of them. Zoro was still drinking.

"My first selection is none other than… YOU!" Foxy pointed at the eight Straw Hat Pirates. "THE DOCTOR TONY TONY CHOPPER! BRING HIM TO ME AT ONCE!"

Two Foxy Pirates came over and grabbed Chopper.

"NO! NO! I DON'T WANNA GO!" the tiny reindeer-human hybrid wailed as he was carried away from his crew to the stage.

"NO, CHOPPER!" Nami gasped. She turned and shoved Ricky. "DO SOMETHING!"

"I can't," Ricky said. "Those are the rules. We lost. He gets to pick one of our crew. The only thing we can do now is try to win him back in the next two rounds."

Chopper was brought up to Foxy who took great joy in hugging the adorable furry reindeer.

"Fehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed. "He's such a rare creature! And even softer than I imagined!"

"Oh boss!" Porche gushed as she ran on stage. "May I hold him? Please!" Foxy passed Chopper off to Porche who happily hugged the struggling reindeer to her chest.

"HE'S JUST SO DAMN CUTE!" Foxy exclaimed. "AND HE'S OURS NOW!"

"NO! NO! NO!" Chopper hollered as he struggled against Porche's tight hold.

"CHOPPER!" Luffy called out.

"So that creep had his eye set on Chopper, huh?" Sanji questioned. "Well, I suppose he is among the rarest of rare animals."

"He's one of a kind," Ricky admitted.

"Or maybe he collects cute things," Nami suggested.

"You know, I wouldn't rule out a fur fetish," Robin stated.

"WHY DOES IT EVEN MATTER?" Usopp yelled. "FOCUS PEOPLE! THAT FREAK OVER THERE JUST TOOK OUR FRIEND!"

"You guys…" Chopper whimpered as he was placed in a chair on stage.

Foxy walked over and smirked down at him, "Alright Doctor Chopper. Enough of all that. You're on my crew now. You need to pledge you loyalty to me. And you can start by putting on this mask." Foxy reached out and put a slanted-eyed foxy mask on Chopper's face.

"You… you guys…" Chopper sobbed.

"I'm so sorry that we lost Chopper!" Usopp cried into his arm. "We did or best. Farwell."

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed. "He is truly a rarity!"

"Our very own talking reindeer!" Porche gushed. "He's so amazing!"

"Haha! We're gonna get along great!" a Foxy Pirate laughed as he put a set of split Foxy ears on top of Chopper's hat. "Here."

"Welcome aboard," another Foxy Pirate said to Chopper.

"YOU GUYS!" Chopper shouted as he jumped up in his chair. Tears and snot ran down his furry face. "LISTEN! I ONLY WENT OUT TO SEA BECAUSE OF YOU! I WON'T! NO! I REFUSE! RICKY INVITED ME! I SET SAIL TO BE ONE OF LUFFY'S STRAW HATS! I WON'T GO WITH THEM! PLEASE! NO! I AM THE SHIP'S DOCTOR OF THE STRAW HAT PIRATES TONY TONY CHOPPER! I WON'T GOOO!"

**THUNK! **Zoro slammed down his bottle of grog.

"Quit your belly aching Chopper," the swordsman snapped. "It's disgraceful."

"Uh… Zoro…" Usopp mumbled.

"You made the choice to set sail as a pirate," Zoro stated. "Only you. And now you have to live with the consequences of that decision. We agreed to the terms of this game. You, Usopp and everyone else did the best that they could. Not one pirate worth is salt is gonna sympathize with those tears." Zoro stood up and stared at Chopper. "A _man_ would suck it up and quietly watch the rest of this game."

"What's wrong with you!" Nami berated him. "Don't you know how he must be feeling!"

**Sniff! Sniff! **Chopper wiped away his tears and brushed the snot away from his blue nose. Then he sat back down in his chair.

"Boil me or cook me alive!" Chopper growled. "GIMME YOUR WORST YOU BASTARDS!"

"Chopper…" Nami gasped.

"Atta boy," Zoro praised the reindeer.

"That swordsman is totally awesome!" one of the Foxy Pirates exclaimed.

"Yeah, you teach him a lesson Zoro!" Usopp cheered.

"Hey boss!" another Foxy Pirate called out. "Let's take him next."

"That was so inspirational I can't stop crying!" another Foxy Pirate confessed.

Ricky grinned at Zoro then looked over at Chopper. "Don't worry Chopper. I'm in round two. I'm not gonna let these jerks keep my little brother for long. Let's start the second round."

"Right," Sanji agreed as he lit up a cigarette. "We've still got two more rounds left of this. There's no way we're letting those jerks take our emergency food supply."

"Hey wait, wasn't Chopper supposed to be in the second round?" Usopp asked. "How can he compete if they took him?"

"Good point," Robin remarked.

"Ha-ha!" a Foxy Pirate laughed. "That's one of the most trilling parts of the game. Remember the rules, you can't change your team's roster. No replacements allowed."

"Actually," Ricky spoke up, "The rule is that we can't make a substitute unless we announce it beforehand." Ricky turned to Zoro. "You're in."

"**WHAT!" **Itomimizu shouted from back up on Chirp Chirp. **"YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANY SUBSTITUTES LISTED ON YOUR ROSTER!"**

"Check it again," Ricky told him.

The Party Organizer pulled out the Straw Hats' Roster. He scanned it to the bottom and spotted an asterisk and the words 'Roronoa Zoro as substitute'.

"**THERE'S NO WAY I MISSED THIS!" **Itomimizu insisted.

"You're all the way up there on your bird and you've had that roster with you this whole time," Ricky pointed out. "How could I possibly have changed it?"

"Hey, wasn't Ricky riding on that loud-mouthed guy's bird for the first round?" Luffy asked.

"Sneaky bastard," Nami muttered. "At least we've got our own fox to counter theirs."

"Its right there, that makes it official," Ricky stated. "Zoro's joining me and Sanji for Round 2."

"**FINE! YOU'RE STILL NOT GOING TO WIN!"**

Ricky turned and grinned at Zoro and Sanji. "Game on, guys."

"So that was your fallback plan," Zoro realized. "Hey curlybrow, you can sit this one out too."

"Shut up mosshead!" Sanji snapped. "We don't even really need you."

"Do you think Ricky will be able to get those two to work together?" Usopp asked.

"If they want any chance to win they'll have to," Nami resolved.

"**THE SECOND ROUND IS THE GROGGY RING! WHERE THE STRAW HAT TEAM OF RICKY, SANJI AND SUBSTITUE ZORO WILL BE FACING THE UNDEFEATED GROGGY MONSTERS!"**

**-x-**

Next chapter is Round 2: the Groggy Ring.

'Till Next Time…

Peace!


	3. Round 2

**Another Nakama IV**

**Disclaimer:** The following is a non-profit fanfic. One Piece and all the related characters are owned by Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV, Shueisha, Shonnan Jump Manga and Eiichiro Oda. QPython only owns the original characters that he created for this story.'

**Round 2:**

**-x-**

Ricky, Zoro and Sanji stood together on a large field that was the size of a soccer pitch. White lines had been painted in the grass to form a large rectangle. Another line went through the middle of the field to divide it in half. Each half had a large white circle painted in the middle and then at the far opposite ends of the field were two large red and white striped rings for goals.

The remaining Straw Hat Pirates and the Foxy Pirates had gathered all around the huge field to watch the second round of the Davy Back Fight.

"So how's this ball game go?" Zoro asked.

"Ricky says we have to get a ball into a hole," Sanji answered. "I guess he meant that ring over there on the far side."

"Sound simple enough," Zoro replied. "Where's the ball?"

"One of the players on each team is the ball," Ricky stated.

"Okay, so we just need to knock one of the other guys into the goal," Sanji reasoned.

"Yup," Ricky confirmed. "But now the loud mouth on the bird is going to explain it and make everything more complicated."

"_**WELCOME TO ROUND 2: THE GROGGY RING!" **_Itomimizu announced as he flew over the field on Chirp Chirp. _**"I WILL NOW EXPLAIN THE RULES. WE HAVE A PLAYING FIELD AND WE HAVE TWO GOALS. KNOCK THE BALL INTO THE GOAL AND YOU WIN! HOWEVER, THE BALL ISN'T ACTUALLY A BALL. THE BALLS ARE PEOPLE! BOTH TEAMS MUST SELECT SOMEONE TO BE THE BALL."**_

"Which one of you guys is gonna be the ball?" a fat Foxy Pirate barked as he came over with a red and white striped ball.

Zoro eyed the straps on the ball. "You mean we have to wear that stupid thing on our head?" Zoro pointed over his shoulder to Sanji. "It should fit him."

"Who said you get to pick!" Sanji snapped. "I'm not wearing that stupid thing! _You're_ the ball you moss-headed bastard!"

"Just give it to me," Ricky requested. The Foxy Pirate tossed Ricky the ball.

Suddenly, the Foxy Pirates started chanting. "UNGA-LAKA-LAKA! UNGA-LAKA-LAKA! UNGA-LAKA-LAKA!"

"_**THEREIT IS! THEIR ENTRANCE THEME SONG! IT'S TIME TO WELCOME BACK THE UNDISPUTED ELITES OF THE GROGGY RING!"**_

Everyone's attention went to the silver fox head on Foxy's ship the Sexy Foxy. The fox's mouth dropped down like an elevator to reveal Ricky, Zoro and Sanji's opponents.

"_**THEY'RE UNDEFEATED, UNBEATABLE, UNSTOPPABLE!"**_

"Gah!" Nami and Usopp stared in wide-eyed horror at the sheer size of the opposing team.

"YEAH! CRUSH 'EM!" a Foxy Pirate cheered.

The Foxy crew continued their chant, "UNGA-LAKA-LAKA! UNGA-LAKA-LAKA!"

"_**THE FAMOUS GROGGY MONSTERS HAVE TAKEN THE FIELD! FIRST, IS THE TEAM CAPTAIN 'FULL DASH' HAMBURG…"**_

The first of the menacing trio was the leader Hamburg. At twenty feet tall, Foxy's right hand man was the smallest of the three Groggy Monsters. He wore his normal blue bottoms and elbow length-foxy gloves.

"_**FOLLOWING BEHIND HIM IS 'TACKLE MACHINE' PICKLES…"**_

**Pickles **towered over Hamburg at nearly forty feet tall. He was a huge round man with tanned skin that wore a foxy eye mask and foxy ears on his head. He wore dark green pants and a light green top with a v-cut neck. Pickle's arms weren't as thick as Hamburg but they were still incredibly long and hung down to the huge round man's knees. Those long arms were clad in a pair of green elbow length Foxy gloves and at the top of the huge, long arms were two round metal shoulder pads.

"_**AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE HALF-GIANT, HALF-FISHMAN HIMSELF… BIG PAN THE WOTAN!"**_

If Pickles was big, the mountain of a man that towered over him was enormous. **Big Pan** showcased his half-giant heritage and stood at a gigantic sixty feet tall. He had a long scruffy red beard and red hair that was shaved into a Mohawk-like mane that ran all the way down his back to his waist. Most of Big Pan's huge muscular body was exposed which revealed the brown fishman markings that went up one arm, across his shoulders and down the other. He wore a short pair of yellow boots that went halfway up to his knees, yellow trunks and yellow gloves that went halfway up to his elbows.

"_**PRESENTING… THE GROGGY MONSTERS!"**_

The ground shook as Hamburg, Pickles and Big Pan marched out onto the field.

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed at the sight of Big Pan, "What is that?"

"Waah!" Chopper the newest Foxy Pirate gasped in shock.

"THAT FISHMAN IS GINORMOUS!" Nami shrieked.

"OH CRAP!" Usopp exclaimed, "HE'S THE ONE WEARING THE BALL MARKER!"

It was true, all the way up Big Pan's huge, muscular body, perched on the top of his head was the tiny red and white ball marker.

"Fehfehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed. "You'll never beat them!"

Hamburg, Pickles and Big Pan reached the middle of the field and cast a huge shadow over the three Straw Hats.

Sanji stood at five foot nine and a half, Zoro stood at five foot ten, Ricky stood at six feet. The three of them barely came up to the top of the twenty-foot Hamburg's waist.

Sanji scowled up at their opponents, "Disappointed?" he asked.

Zoro cracked his neck, "Not at all."

"Should at least be interesting," Ricky stated.

"_**THE GROGGY MONSTERS HAVE TAKEN THE FIELD. THEIR OPPONENTS ON THE STRAW HAT TEAM ARE THE 'SAVAGE CHEF' SANJI…"**_

"I think you mean stylish chef," Sanji said. He didn't seem pleased with his new nickname.

"_**BESIDE HIM, WITH A BOUNTY OF SIXTY MILLION BERRIES… 'PIRATE HUNTER' RORONOA ZORO…"**_

"Hmph…" Zoro grunted.

"_**AND THEIR PARTNER, THE HORRIBLE EXCUSE FOR A BIRD-STEALING COLOR COMMENTATOR FROM THE FIRST ROUND… 'ONE EYE' RICKY…"**_

"Right, _I'm _the horrible excuse for a commentator," Ricky muttered, "He could at least pretend to be objective."

"It hardly seems to be worth our time to squash some pipsqueaks like these," Pickles taunted from across the half-court line. "Right, Big Pan?"

Big Pan slowly raised his long arm to his ear, "Huh…?"

"Pupupupupu!" Hamburg laughed, "He can't hear you!"

"Man, what do these guys eat?" Sanji wondered as he stared up at their huge opponents.

"We'll start out with a coin toss," the referee announced. He was a skinny man with tan skin, pale hair and a short red nose. He wore a yellow and black striped shirt and a Foxy mask. He held out his white coved hand with a gold coin on it and flipped it. **Flik! **

"Tails," Hamburg called it.

"What about you?" the referee asked the Straw Hats.

"Kinda has to be heads," Sanji pointed out.

The referee looked down and saw Foxy's face smiling up at him. "It's tails." The crooked referee smirked and turned to the Groggy Monsters. "Field or ball?"

"Ball please," Hamburg requested.

"_**YOU HEARD 'EM! THE GROGGY MONSTERS HAVE CHOSEN THE BALL!"**_

"It landed on heads," Ricky muttered.

"_**THE STRAW HATS' BALL-MAN MUST NOW ENTER THE OTHER TEAM'S MID-CIRCLE. THE BALL MEN ARE THE PLAYERS WITH THE SILLY LITTLE HATS ON THEIR HEADS. KNOCK THE OPPONENTS BALL MAN INTO THE RING ON THEIR SIDE OF THE FIELD AND THE GAME IS YOURS."**_

"Hey Ball-Man, get in position already," Zoro ordered Sanji.

"I never agreed to be the ball in the first place!" Sanji reminded him. "You'd better shut your mouth unless you want a boot to the teeth."

"Guys, guy!" Ricky spoke up, "We won't stand a chance in this game unless we can work together here. We have to win Chopper back so this isn't the time for you two to be fighting."

"How am I supposed to look cool with that stupid ball on my head?" Sanji protested.

"You never look cool anyway!" Zoro retorted. "You really gonna cry over a hat? I think it would look good on you."

"WHAT'D YOU SAY TO ME JACKASS!" Sanji yelled. "LIKE I'D FALL FOR THAT!"

"RICKY! ZORO! SANJI!" Luffy cheered from the sideline where he, Usopp, Nami and Robin all stood together. "WE'RE COUNTING ON YOU!"

"I'm sorry we lost the last round you guys," Usopp sobbed. "It's up to you now! Please get Chopper back! You've gotta!"

"Wow, it's a real Wotan," Nami observed as she stared at the half-giant, half-fishman Big Pan.

"They actually aren't even as large as pure blooded giants," Robin informed her. "But he's still pretty big."

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed as he strutted passed the Straw Hats. "Don't bother cheering for your friends! It's no use!" Foxy pointed at his monstrous team. "Those guys are more than just muscle! They are Groggy Ring experts!"

"Oh, hey split-head," Luffy noted Foxy's presence. "Did you want something?"

Foxy dropped to his knees and moped, "He… he called me split-head again…"

"Aw Boss!" Porche cried out as she ran over and knelt down next to Foxy. "You poor thing!" Porche helped Foxy back to his feet and glared at the Straw Hats. "Why would you be so cruel to this sweet gentle man?"

Porche's words were enough to get Foxy feeling cocky again. "What's with that face?" Foxy taunted Luffy and Usopp who were both glaring at him. "If you're afraid that I'm going to interfere again, then don't worry. I won't even need to in this round, you babies!"

"Don't tell me you can butt-in on this game too!" Nami complained, still sore about Foxy costing her team the Donut Race.

"Yup," Foxy replied. "It all depends on how the Captain feels! Naturally, some pirates like to fight fair and square so that they can test the strength of their crew. Others will cheat any way they can to make sure they never lose a match. BUT I JUST DO WHATEVER I WANT! FEHFEHFEHFEHFEH!"

"Nyya!" Porche pulled down her eyelid and stuck her tongue out at Nami.

"I don't see why you're complaining about a little foul-play here and there," Foxy remarked. "If you're a real pirate you should be used to these sorts of things, right? The sea is treacherous."

"You would know," Nami spat.

"By the way," Foxy said, "It doesn't seem like your team is getting along to well…"

"YOU WEREN'T EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE ON THIS TEAM!" Sanji yelled at Zoro. "I SAY YOU WEAR THE BALL!"

"I thought you were supposed to be Mr. Prince?" Zoro asked. "That ball could be your crown… as the Prince of Lame-Asses."

"YOU BASTARD!" Sanji yelled at he launched himself at Zoro for a flurry of kicks but Zoro deflected the kicks with his swords and swung the blades at Sanji.

"Are you guys gonna pick a Ball-Man or not?" Pickles demanded.

"Pupupupupu!" Hamburg laughed at the other team fighting amongst themselves.

"Guys, quit fighting!" Ricky ordered. "Come on! We're fighting them, not each other."

"I DON'T NEED HIM ON MY TEAM!" Zoro and Sanji yelled at the same time.

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed at the bickering Straw Hats.

"Grrr…" Nami growled, "RICKY! GET IT TOGETHER!"

"ENOUGH!" Ricky snapped as he shoved Zoro and Sanji apart. "If neither of you wants to wear the ball then I'll wear the stupid thing and be the Ball-Man." Ricky pulled off his white beret and slipped it into his pocket then put the silly-looking ball on top of his head and tied it on. "But this means you two are going to have to work together on offense. Got it?"

"Whatever," Sanji scoffed. "I don't need him anyway."

"Shut up, fancy-cook!" Zoro snarled, "You're just gonna get in my way!"

"QUIT WASTING TIME!" Usopp yelled. "START THE MATCH!"

"HEY! NO WEAPONS ON THE FIELD!" the referee barked at Zoro. "Lose the swords!"

"_**THAT'S RIGHT! THIS IS A BALL GAME! WE CAN'T HAVE YOU SLICING EACH OTHER UP! NO WEAPONS ALLOWED!"**_

"I warned you about this," Ricky reminded Zoro. "This is why you weren't on our original Groggy Ring Team. Why do you think I left my sword back on the ship?"

Zoro handed his three swords over to the referee then pounded his fists together. **Pow! **

"Fine," he stated. "My fists are all I need."

"You sure you're gonna be okay out there?" Sanji asked. "A swordsman without his swords is just… a normal guy. Now who's the Prince of Lame-Asses?"

"WHY YOU!" Zoro yelled as he launched himself at Sanji and lashed out with his bare fists. Sanji spun and blocked Zoro's punches with his feet and retaliated with a barrage of kicks.

"Good grief," Ricky groaned as his two teammates started fighting each other again. "This is why I wanted Chopper on the team. GUYS! I'M GONNA START THE MATCH! GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!"

Ricky turned and followed the Groggy Monsters onto their side of the field.

"_**IT LOOKS LIKE THE STRAW HAT'S BALL-MAN IS FINALLY MAKING HIS WAY TO THE OPPONENTS' MID-CIRCLE."**_

"I HOPE YOU GET TRAMPLED!" Zoro growled as he swung at Sanji face.

**Swish! **Sanji dodged the punch and lashed out with a kick, "UP YOURS!"

"And they're still fighting…" Ricky noted as he stood in the far circle with the three Groggy Monsters towering over him.

"Hey Big Pan, are you ready to make some grown men cry?" Pickles asked.

"…huh?" Big Pan grunted.

"Pupupupupu!" Hamburg laughed. "He can't hear you!"

"Eh?" Pickles questioned then laughed as he turned and patted Big Pan's stomach, "Heh heh ha! Heh heh ha! Come on, man! Pay attention for once! Heh heh ha!"

"Pupupupupu!" Hamburg continued to laugh.

Big Pan looked down and saw both of his team mates laughing so he started laughing too. "Sheesheeshee!"

"_**WHAT CAN I SAY? THE GROGGY MONSTERS ARE ALWAYS UP FOR A GOOD LAUGH!"**_

Ricky crossed his arms over his chest and frowned at his three laughing opponents, "If Ace, Ollie and the others learn that I lost to these clowns, I'll never live this down."

"_**JUST TO RECAP, THERE'S NO TIME LIMIT! THE FIRST TEAM TO SCORE WINS!"**_

Ricky turned around and saw that Zoro and Sanji were _still _fighting. "GUYS! KNOCK IT OFF!"

Zoro and Sanji backed away from each other and looked over at Ricky.

"Stupid cook," Zoro growled, "You almost made us miss the start of the match."

"It's your fault dumbass!" Sanji argued. "You started it!"

"Look, all we've gotta do is plant jumbo's head in the ring," Zoro pointed out. "I'll do that. You focus on keeping them for getting Ricky in _our _ring."

"_**CAN THE STRAW HAT TEAM WIN BACK THE REINDEER THEY LOST IN THE FIRST ROUND? OR WILL THEY LOSE ANOTHER MEMBER? FOXY'S REIGNING CHAMPS ARE LAUGHING IN THE FACE OF THEIR COMPETITION. BUT WILL THEY BE THE ONES TO LAUGH LAST?"**_

"Pupupupupupu!""Heh heh ha!" "Sheesheesheeshee!"

"_**THE WHISTLE IS ABOUT TO SOUND!"**_

The referee raised his whistle to his lips. The laughing immediately stopped and all six competitors tensed. The referee took a deep breath and blew.

**TWWWEEEEEEEEEEEE!**

"_**LET THE GAME BEGIN! WE START WITH BALL-MAN RICKY DEEP IN ENEMY TERRITORY. WILL HE RETREAT OR ATTACK?"**_

"LET'S DO THIS!" Pickles exclaimed as he charged at Ricky.

"'_**TACKLE MACHINE' PICKLES TAKES OFF WITH A HEAVY CHARGE!"**_

"I'm not just gonna stand here and take the hit," Ricky growled as he charged to meet Pickles.

"SLING TACKLE!" Pickles lunged shoulder-first at Ricky. **SKISH! **Ricky jumped up and planted his foot on Pickles' metal shoulder pad and launched himself up into the air.

"Heads up, big guy!" Ricky called out as he flew up into the air in front of Big Pan.

"FLYING ARROW KICK!" Ricky's feet connected with Big Pan's chest… and slid right off. **SWWIIISSSHH! **Big Pan leaned back and Ricky slid up Big Pan's chest to his shoulder. "Whoa-whoa-whoa…" Ricky couldn't get his foot and slid along Big Pan's shoulder and down the half-fishman's long brown-marked arm.

"HEY RICKY! YOU CALL THAT A KICK!" Sanji shouted.

"SHUT UP!" Ricky snapped. "His skin's slippery!"

"_**LOOKS LIKE RICKY COULDN'T EVEN LAND A KICK! NOW HE'S SLIPPING ON BIG PAN'S MASSIVE ARM. BUT THAT'S NO SURPRISE TO US. AFTER ALL, BIG PAN'S HALF-LOACH FISHMAN. THEY HAVE SLIPPERY SKIN."**_

"Whoa-whoa-whoa!" Ricky ran on Big Pan's arm but couldn't gain any traction due to his slippery skin and ended up sliding down to his elbow.

"RICKY GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Zoro hollered as he shoved Sanji to the side and ran onto the other side of the field.

"DON'T PUSH ME, YOU BASTARD!" Sanji yelled as he charged after Zoro.

"Pupupupu!" Hamburg laughed as and Pickles ran passed Zoro and Sanji in the other direction. "Run and Gun!"

"PUNK PASS!" Big Pan roared as he swung his other arm down and smacked Ricky off his arm with his yellow-gloved webbed hand. **WHAM! **

"WAAAH!" Ricky cried out as he was sent flying clear over Zoro and Sanji's heads to the other side of the field towards the far ring.

"_**IT'S BIG PAN'S SUPER LONG PASS!"**_

"AAH! RICKY!" Luffy yelped in alarm.

"Damn it, we got suckered in!" Zoro complained. He spun on the spot and raced back the other way but Hamburg and Pickles were already halfway to the goal and were ready to receive the Long Pass from Big Pan.

"_**AND TEAM CAPTAIN HAMBURG RACES ONTO THE SCENE FOR THE CATCH! ZORO IS IN HOT PURSUIT!"**_

"SAUTE'!" **ZZZZOOOOOOM! **Sanji streaked passed Zoro as a black and white blur and raced after Hamburg and Pickles.

"IF RICKY'S HEAD MAKES IT WITHIN AN INCH OF THAT RING, I'M GONNA CHOP _YOURS_ OFF!" Zoro hollered as he ran after Sanji.

"SPEAK FOR YOURSELF SLOWPOKE!" Sanji retorted as he blazed through the mid-circle on their side and caught up with Hamburg.

"SWEEPING TACKLE!" Pickles lunged to the side and slammed shoulder-first into Sanji who was still going at full speed. **WHAM! **Sanji collided with Pickles' metal shoulder pad and went flying back the other way.

**SKISH! **Hamburg launched himself high up into the air towards Ricky as he flew overhead towards the goal.

"_**PICKLES TAKES OUT SANJI WITH A BIG TACKLE! MEANWHILE, HAMBURG FLIES HIGH FOR A FANCY MIDAIR CATCH!" **_

**WHAP! **Hamburg grabbed Ricky in a big bear hug.

"Uugghh…" Ricky groaned, "Let me go, you big gorilla!"

"Pupupupup! Sure!" Hamburg happily agreed.** SWISH! **Hamburg spun in midair and threw Ricky down towards the Straw Hats' goal. "GORILLA THROW!"

**THUD! **Sanji landed hard in the mid-circle while Zoro ran passed him.

"I've got it! I've got it!" Pickles called out as he raced towards the ring.

"NO YOU DON'T!" Zoro yelled as he raced after him.

**SKIISH! **Pickles skidded to a stop and spun to face Zoro. "SPINNING TACKLE!" **WHISH-WHISH-WHISH-WHAM! **Pickles spun in place and Zoro slammed right into him then bounced off and flew back towards Sanji.

"Oh no…" Ricky groaned as he fell downward right towards the still-spinning Pickles. **WHAM! **Ricky was knocked right back up into the air.

"_**WITH HIS PARTNERS DOWN, BALL-MAN RICKY IS SENT FLYING INTO THE SKY!"**_

"WAAH!" Luffy gasped.

"RICKY!" Usopp shrieked.

Robin looked beside her and noted that Nami had her hands over her mouth and was staring up at Ricky in clear concern.

**THOOM! THOOM! **The field shook with each huge footfall as Big Pan barreled across it.

"_**BRINGING UP THE REAR, BIG PAN STORMS ACROSS THE FIELD… AND CATCHES THE FALLING HAMBURG!"**_

"PUNK RECEIVE!" **THOOOM! **Big Pan dove onto the ground and brought his hands together to bump Hamburg back up into the air like a volley ball.

**WHAP! **Hamburg flew back up and grabbed Ricky and raised him overhead as he flew down towards the ring below them.

"_**ONCE AGAIN, HAMBURG NABS RICKY WITH A PERFECT CATCH! INCREDIBLE!"**_

"UUGGHH!" Ricky grunted and coughed up blood from the second tight squeeze.

"_**THE GOAL IS IN SIGHT! THIS IS IT!"**_

"YEAH! IT'S THE HAMBURGER DUNK!" a Foxy Pirate cheered.

"WAAAAAAHH!" Chopper screamed from where he was still seated on the stage.

"DAMN IT! I'VE GOTTA STOP HIM!" Zoro and Sanji shouted together as they shot back up.

Zoro charged at Pickles and grabbed the big man's leg. **Whap! **"Hey! Cut it out!

**SKEESH!** Sanji took advantage of Big Pan still being on the ground and slid along the Wotan's huge slippery body, "Coming through!"

"HURRY! DO SOMETHING!" Luffy, Usopp and Nami all shouted at once. "ZORO! SANJI!"

"_**THE STRAW HATS ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!"**_

"I know…" Zoro growled, "You don't need to remind me!"

**WHOOOSH! **Hamburg rocketed down towards the hoop with Ricky poised overhead.

"RAAAAAHH!" Zoro let out a loud roar and hoisted the forty-foot Pickles up off of the ground. "IT AIN'T OVER! I WON'T LET YOU SCORE!" **WOOOSH! WOOOSH! WOOOSH! **Zoro spun in place and started to swing Pickles around him by his leg. **FWING! **Zoro threw Pickles and sent him flying towards the ring.

**SLOOOOSSHH! **Sanji skated up Big Pan's back to his shoulder and launched himself up into the air. "I WON'T LET ZORO BEAT ME!" Sanji flew up into the air over Hamburg and swung his leg down. "I'D NEVER LIVE IT DOWN! EPAULE SHOOT!" **THWHAM! **Sanji drove his foot into Hamburg's shoulder.

"GAAH!" Hamburg groaned as he was knocked through the air. Now he was on a collision course with the ground in front of the ring. Or he would have been.

"OH HELL!" Ricky exclaimed as Pickles came flying over and collided with him and Hamburg. **KER-WHAM! **Ricky, Pickles and Hamburg all went flying clear over the ring and crashed down to the ground outside the white lines.

**Tmp! **Sanji landed on the ground next to Zoro and the duo surveyed their work.

Hamburg, Pickles and Ricky were all laid out on the ground behind the goal.

"_**NO GOAL!"**_

**-x-**

**Groggy Ring:**

**-x-**

"_**NO GOAL!"**_

**TWWEEEEEEE! **The referee blew his whistle.

"_**THE STRAW HAT'S BALL-MAN HAS LANDED OUT OF BOUNDS! THE GAME IS STOPPED UNTIL HE CAN BE PUT BACK INTO PLAY!"**_

The Straw Hats cheered for the 'save' while Foxy and his crew stared in shock.

"I already told you, I don't need your help!" Sanji snapped at Zoro.

"Because of you they almost scored!" Zoro argued. "Stay out of my way!"

"_**IT SEEMS OUR GROGGY MONSTERS HAVE FINALLY FOUND SOME WORTHY ADVERSARIES IN THE GROGGY RING! THIS ONE WILL BE A MATCH TO REMEMBER! THE STRAW HATS PREVAILED BUT CAN THEY DO IT AGAIN?"**_

"You're cramping my style!" Sanji growled, "Go back to the sidelines moss-head!"

"Your style almost cost us this match!" Zoro retorted.

"They're tough!" one of the Foxy Pirates remarked.

"That one guy picked up Pickles and tossed him!"

"And the other one's so fast! He kicked Hamburg right out of the air!"

"…" Foxy silently gaped at the field. He didn't even notice the snot dripping out of his nose.

"NO! HAMBURG!" Porche wailed as she grabbed Chopper off of the stage and hugged him. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE! WE CAN'T LOSE CHOPPY! IF YOU LOSE I'LL NEVER, EVER FORGIVE YOU!"

"Listen, you PLAYBOY COOK!" Zoro yelled, "You'd better get those FANCY EYEBROWS OUTTA MY WAY in a hurry!"

"No, you listen, YOU DUMB OAF!" Sanji fired back. "If you don't GET YOUR MEATHEAD OFF THE FIELD RIGHT NOW I'm gonna FRY IT UP!"

"_**WHAT'S THIS? THE STRAW HAT TEAM SEEMS TO BE HAVING SOME TYPE OF DISAGREEMENT WITH EACH OTHER."**_

"SHISHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed, "Those two sure are funny!"

"Grruuhh…" Ricky groaned as he pushed himself off the ground and glared passed the ring at Zoro and Sanji, "ARE YOU TWO STILL FIGHTING?"

"IT'S HIS FAULT!" Zoro and Sanji insisted in sync.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Ricky yelled. He staggered passed the ring back onto the field. "We're gonna lose if you two keep this crap up! And you know why?" Ricky grabbed Zoro and Sanji's ears and yanked them closer. "It's not because they're stronger, it's not because they're faster. We're stronger. We're faster. It's not because they're huge monsters. It's not because the commentator's on their side. It's not because that crooked referee is in Foxy's back pocket. We can overcome all that. We're gonna lose this BECAUSE THEY'RE WORKING LIKE A FREAKING TEAM!"

"_**THE STRAW HAT'S BALL-MAN IS BACK ON THE FIELD. HE NEEDS TO RETURN TO HIS TEAM'S MID-CIRCLE FOR PLAY TO RESUME!"**_

"GET 'EM GUYS!" Usopp called out. "THEIR BALL-MAN IS ALL ALONE!"

"I'm not asking much here!" Ricky continued, "If you guys can stop tripping over each other and work together for just TWO MINUTES we could beat these big clowns and win Chopper back!"

"That's way too long," Zoro insisted. "I won't work with this guy for even _one _minute."

"Same here," Sanji agreed. "This dumbass has been holding me back from the start."

"LISTEN!" Ricky snapped. "If you can't work together… then work with me. I need you both. Now come on you numbskulls. Let's end this while we still have a chance."

Ricky marched back across the field their mid-circle. Zoro and Sanji stalked after him. Big Pan stood waiting on the mid-field line.

**TWWWEEEEEE! **The referee blew his whistle once Ricky stepped into the mid-circle.

"_**BOTH BALL-MEN ARE BACK IN PLAY. THE GAME CONTINUES!"**_

"TOO BAD DANCE!" Big Pan raised his foot up into the air and stomped towards the Straw Hats.

"_**BIG PAN'S NOT BACKING AWAY! HE'S STOMPING RIGHT AT THE STRAW HATS!"**_

"Oh crap!" Ricky cursed.

For the first time, Ricky, Zoro and Sanji were all on the same page. They all turned and ran.

"DON'T RUN FROM THE BALL!" Usopp yelled as Big Pan thundered after the trio. "HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO SCORE?"

"HE'S GOT KNIVES ON HIS SHOES!" Zoro snapped back. "IF WE DON'T RUN AWAY HE'LL MAKE MULCH OUT OF US!"

"Eh?" Usopp said as he looked closer at Big Pan's boots. There were spikes on the bottom. And due to Big Pan's monstrous size those spikes were each the size of a sword.

"HEY REF!" Sanji yelled. "I THOUGHT YOU SAID WE COULDN'T USE WEAPONS!"

"…" the referee turned his head away and started to whistle to himself. **Sweeesweeetweee… **Sweat ran down his face as he blatantly ignored the foul play by his crew's team.

"WHAT?" Usopp demanded. "HE'S NOT EVEN TRYING, IS HE?"

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed. "You can't expect him to catch every little thing, can you?"

"STOP SCREWING AROUND!" **SWISH! **Sanji swung his leg and his shoe flew at the referee. Since the referee wasn't looking at the field he didn't see it coming and it slammed into his face. **WHAM! **The referee was knocked back passed the Straw Hats.

"Sanji!" Nami exclaimed. "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?"

"YOU SAW THE WHOLE THING!" Sanji hollered while Usopp tried in vain to hold him back. "I SAW YOU SWEATING OVER THERE YOU LITTLE CHEATER!"

"No… no way…" the referee groaned. There was now a large lump on his head. "I didn't… I didn't see nothin'… Not a thing…"

"YOU LIAR!" Sanji yelled.

"That's the ref Sanji!" Usopp pointed out. "You're gonna get in trouble!"

**TWEEE! **The referee got up and blew his whistle. "Yellow Card to Sanji on Team Straw Hat."

"YOU WANT ANOTHER BOOT TO THE FACE!" Sanji screamed at him.

"WAAAAH!" the referee shrieked and scrambled away.

"Whoa, hold on!" Usopp tried to reason with the cook. "You're only gonna make it worse!"

"_**AND THERE IT IS, A YELLOW CARD FOR SANJI! JUST ONE MORE OF THOSE AND THE CHEF WILL BE EJECTED FROM THE GAME ONCE AND FOR ALL, FOLKS!"**_

"SHUT UP!" Sanji shouted up at him. "I'LL EJECT _YOU_!"

"_**THE THREATS KEEP COMING IN FROM THE FOUL-MOUTHED STRAW HATS. ARE THESE GUYS PIRATES OR GANGSTERS?"**_

"Grrr…" Sanji growled as he calmed down. "We'll worry about the boots. The ref can wait." Sanji turned to see Ricky and Zoro still running from Big Pan. WHO WAS SWINGING A GIANT AX AT THEM!

"HOW'D YOU MISS THAT?" Sanji asked. Angry all over again.

"I didn't see anything," the referee insisted as he turned his head away and whistled. "Are you sure?"

"OF COURSE I'M SURE!" Sanji snapped. "LOOK, HE'S GOT A GIANT AX! YOU CAN SEE FOR YOURSELF STUPID!"

"SHUT UP!" Usopp scolded him. "You're gonna get a Red Card if you don't shut it!"

"Why are you siding with them all of a sudden?" Sanji demanded. "We're gonna get julienned out there!"

"I know," Usopp agreed, "But they're trying to make you do something stupid! You're falling right into their trap!"

"Who cares…" Sanji growled.

"If you won't do it for me at least do it for Chopper!" Usopp urged him.

"Then let _me _handle that jerk!" Luffy offered as he stomped towards the referee.

"Noooo!" Usopp cried as he grabbed Luffy's vest and dragged him back. "We don't need the captain butting in and complicating things!"

"Sanji, please!" Nami pleaded. "Win the match for me!"

Sanji dropped down on one knee and wore a wide goofy grin as he held his hands together in a heart for a 'Pose of Love'. "I won't let you down!"

"That was easy," Usopp remarked.

"NOW BACK TO THE GAME!" Sanji shouted.

"Zoro, Sanji's done fooling around with the referee," Ricky pointed out as he and Zoro continued to run from the ax-wielding Whotan. "Now!"

**Skish! **Zoro spun around and held his arms together. Ricky jumped and landed on Zoro's arms. **FWING! **Zoro swung his arms up and launched Ricky up into the air towards Big Pan's ax.

"Machete… BACK KICK!" Ricky spun and lashed his foot back behind him. **KLANG! **The metal bottom of Ricky's boot connected with the blade of Big Pan's ax. The ax swung backwards and collided Big Pan's head and slid off. **SWISH! **Big Pan hadn't taken the full hit but he still recoiled from the partial blow as Ricky continued to fly towards him.

"_His skin's all slippery,"_ Ricky recounted to himself, _"But his chin's covered in hair. That should give me enough traction to land a solid kick."_

"JAVELIN KICK!" **THWHAM! **Ricky slammed his foot into Big Pan's bearded chin. The full blow connected and Big Pan was knocked backwards. His body was so huge that he fell across the mid field line. "SANJI! HE'S COMING YOUR WAY! KICK HIS BEARD!"

"SAUTE!" **ZZZOOOOOM! **Sanji sped across the field and launched himself at Big Pan. "COLLIER SHOOT!" **THWHAM! **Sanji was still just a blur as he shot forward and drove his foot into Big Pan's beard. The power and speed behind the kick was enough to knock Big Pan up into the air and send him flying across the field towards his team's goal.

"_**BIG PAN WAS JUST SENT FLYING!"**_

**ZZZOOOOOOM! **Sanji raced after Big Pan and launched himself up into the air and did a flip. "CONCASSE'!" **THWHAM! **Sanji came down and drove his heels down onto the top of Big Pan's head and drove it and the ball INTO THE RING!

"_**I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! THE STRAW HATS JUST SCORED!"**_

**TWEEEEEEEEEE! **The referee blew his whistle. "NO GOAL!" He pointed at Ricky. "There's metal on the bottom of his boots. That makes them a weapon. No goal." The referee pulled out his Yellow Card again. "Yellow Card to Ricky on Team Straw Hat."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Ricky, Zoro and Sanji shouted at the referee.

"_**WHAT A GREAT CALL BY THE REFEREE! RICKY'S ILLEGAL WEAPON USE MEANS THAT THE GOAL IS NEGATED AND THE MATCH CONTINUES! THAT REFEREE MIGHT NOT CATCH EVERY LITTLE THING BUT HE DOES HIS JOB WHEN IT REALLY MATTERS."**_

"THAT'S IT! LET ME AT HIM!" Nami snapped as she charged the referee.

Usopp struggled to hold her back, "Nami, you're gonna blow the whole match!"

"That's only if the referee doesn't just giftwrap it and hand it to those other guys first!" Nami snapped.

"Take the boots off," the referee ordered Ricky.

"What about his?" Ricky asked as he motioned to the still prone Big Pan's boot and pointed at the sword-sized spikes that were on the end.

"Those are just spikes for traction," the referee insisted, "Yours are weapons."

"Un… believable…" Ricky grunted as he reached down and removed his boots then tossed them over to the sidelines.

"_**THAT DIRTY, CHEATING BALL-MAN MUST NOW RETURN TO THE MID-CIRCLE BEFORE THE MATCH CAN CONTINUE."**_

"Still not as dirty as your referee!" Ricky shot back as he walked barefoot back to the mid-circle that he'd started the match in. Zoro and Sanji glared each other as they stormed back to their side of the field and left the two Ball-Men alone on the other side.

"Uuuggghhh…" Big Pan sat back up.

"_**YOU CAN'T KEEP A GOOD MONSTER DOWN! BIG PAN'S BACK UP. BOTH BALL-MEN ARE IN PLAY SO THE MATCH CONTINUES."**_

**TWEEEEEEE! **The referee blew his whistle.

**WHAM! **Big Pan lashed out and smacked Ricky with his gloved hand. He was once again sent flying clear across the field. Ricky flew over Zoro and Sanji's heads as they raced at Big Pan.

"GET READY BIG MAN!" Sanji shouted. "IT'S PAYBACK TIME!"

"GO BACK TO THE SIDELINES!" Zoro snapped at Sanji, "THIS BASTARD IS MINE!"

"THERE'S PLENTY OF HIM FOR BOTH OF YOU!" Nami berated them.

"_**AND THEY'RE OFF ALL THREE ARE ABOUT TO COLLIDE!"**_

"_I can't attack him where his skin's exposed," Sanji thought to himself, "That leaves his chin, his hands, his feet, his mask and his Trunks."_

"LOACH SCOOPING SLIDE!" **THOOOM! **Big Pan dove forward and landed on the ground. **SKISH! **Sanji and Zoro both jumped up to avoid the falling Loach Wotan but while Sanji cleared his head, Zoro landed on his shoulder and started sliding.

"LOACH RACING CIRCLES!" Big Pan curled his arms and legs up to form a big circle.

"_**UH-OH! HERE COMES BIG PAN'S SIGNTURE MOVE! THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET SLIPPERY!"**_

"Waaaahhh!" Zoro yelped as he slid out of control down Big Pan's back.

"Bring it on!" Sanji growled as he surfed down Big Pan's back after Zoro. "Who's afraid of a little skating?"

**WHISH-WHISH-WHISH-WHISH! **A little skating turned out to be a lot of skating. Zoro and Sanji both became blurs as the slid in circles around Big Pan's slipper loop-shaped body.

"I'M GONNA LOSE MY LUNCH!" Sanji cried out and he and Zoro found themselves trapped in a rollercoaster loop from hell.

**THUD! **Ricky finally landed from Big Pan's hit and crashed down in front of his own ring. Two large shadows fell over him.

"_**IT LOOKS LIKE PICKLES AND HAMBURG HAVE FINALLY RECOVERED FROM THEIR EARLIER ACCIDENT!"**_

"Yeah! They're back in it!" a Foxy pirate cheered.

"SLAUGHTER 'EM GUYS!" another Foxy Pirate shouted.

Pickles and Hamburg loomed over Ricky on the far side of the field. Both of them were sporting a lot more metal than they had been previously.

"_**WHAT'S THIS? IT SEEMS LIKE THEY'VE UPDATED THEIR WARDROBE! HAMBURG IS NOW SPORTING SOME HIGH END KNUCKLES AND ELBOW GUARDS. WHERE DID THOSE COME FROM?"**_

"Pupupupupu!" **Klank-klank-klank! **Hamburg looked like a monkey playing a cymbal as he smashed together the metal knuckles on his fists.

"Heh heh ha!" Pickles laughed as he stood beside Hamburg. His shoulder pads now had five sharp metal spikes coming out of them.

"_**MEANWHILE, PICKLES HAS DONNED SPIKED SHOULDER PROTECTORS. THOSE CLEARLY VIOLATE THE NO WEAPONS RULE."**_

The referee was currently in a split as he faced away from the field and did stretches.

"_**BUT BY COMPLETE COINCIDENCE THE REFEREE APPEARS TO BE DOING SOME STRETCHES RIGHT NOW. OH WELL, YOU CAN'T EXPECT HIM TO CATCH EVERYTHING."**_

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Ricky snapped.

"Pupupupupu!" Hamburg laughed.

"Time for revenge my friend," Pickles announced, "Are you ready?"

Hamburg and Pickles charged. Ricky flinched. They ran right passed him.

"_**IT LOOKS LIKE THE GROGGY MONSTERS HAVE ABANDONED THE BALL-MAN IN FAVOR OF HIS PARTNERS."**_

"Here it goes!" Big Pan called out as he finally broke the loop and extended his arms out in front of him. "LOACH COASTER!" **WHOOOSH! **Zoro and Sanji went flying along Big Pan's arms and shot up into air and across the field/

"Wah! Stop spinning!" a dizzy Zoro moaned as he and the equally delirious Sanji flew across the midfield line.

"Now to bring the pain!" Pickles taunted as they charged to meet them. "SPINNING TACKLE!"

**WHISH-WHISH-WHISH! **Pickles spun in place and Hamburg jumped up onto his shoulders. **SKISH! **Hamburg launched himself high up into the air towards Zoro.

Hamburg raised his metal-clad arms up over his head, "HAMBURGER HAMMER!" **WHAM! **He slammed his metal knuckles and elbow guards down into Zoro. The swordsman crashed down to the ground and coughed up blood. **KRASH!**

"NOOO! ZORO!" Usopp shouted.

"Bastards!" Ricky snapped as he ran across the field. "Speed Step…" **ZZZZZZOOOOM!**

"SWEEPING TACKLE!" Pickles lunged in front of Ricky to intercept him. **SLISH! **Ricky was slashed by Pickles' spiked shoulder pad and flew backwards.

"_**THE ASSUALT ISN'T OVER YET!"**_

Hamburg was still way up overhead. He flipped in midair and crossed his arms in front of him as he dove downward. **SKISH! **Big Pan jumped up behind Hamburg.

"_**BIG PAN READIES YET ANOTHER BRUTAL ATTACK! HAMBURG IS BRANDISHING HIS MIGHTY ELBOW GUARDS AND IS PREPARING FOR AN AIRBORNE STRIKE!"**_

"OH NO!" Nami gasped.

"This is bad," Robin realized.

"_**THE STRAW HAS ARE ABOUT TO LEARN THE POWER OF TEAMWORK!"**_

"Uuugghhh…" Zoro groaned as he laid on his back on the ground.

"_**LIKE AN ARROW FROM THE SKY!"**_

"LOACH SPIKE!" **WHAM! **Big Pan swung his arm down and spiked Hamburg. Hamburg flew down with his arms cross and drove his elbow guards right into Zoro's chest and stomach. **BOOOOOOOM!**

"NOOOOO!" Usopp screamed.

"_**A DIRECT HIT! HE WON'T BE WALKING THAT ONE OFF. BY THE WAY, FATALITIES ARE A COMMON OCCURANCE IN THE GROGGY RING. IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW."**_

"So… dizzy…" Sanji mumbled as he finally recovered from Big Pan's spin cycle and stagger to his feet. He didn't notice Pickles running back towards Big Pan.

"_**AND NOW THE FOXY TEAM TURNS THEIR ATTENTION TO THE CHEF SANJI."**_

**SKISH! **Pickles launched himself up at Big Pan and rolled into a ball. **WHOP! **Big Pan knelt down and caught Pickles in his mouth then spat. "HUMAN CANNON!" **BOOOOM! **Pickles rocketed across the field like he'd been fired out of a cannon.

"_**THOSE SPIKES ARE CLOSING IN FAST!"**_

"SANJI! MOVE!" Luffy hollered as Pickles flew spikes-first at Sanji.

"Uugghhh…" Sanji groaned. He could barely stand let alone move.

"SLING TACKLE!" **SLA-SLISH! **Pickles slashed Sanji with his spiked shoulder pad and knocked him up into the air.

"_**WHAT YOU THOUGHT THAT WAS IT? THEY'RE JUST GETTING STARTED!"**_

"What the…" Ricky sat up and held his chest. **WHOMP! **Hamburg crashed down on top of him then launched himself off of Ricky and up into the air to meet Sanji.

"SIZE ATTACK!" Hamburg lashed out his fist and smashed Sanji with his metal knuckles. **POW! **Blood stained Sanji's white shirt as he went flying back the way he came. "SMALL!"

"_**HAMBURG USES RICKY AS A TRAMPOLINE TO SEND SANJI FLYING BACK. THEY DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT SCORING ANYMORE!"**_

**SKISH! **Pickles jumped up into the air and smashed Sanji with his shoulder pad again. **SLASH! **The cook was knocked even further up into the air and peaked at a good hundred feet. "MEDIUM!"

**SKISH! **Big Pan jumped up into the air and raised his arm up over his head. "PAN!" **WHAM! **Big Pan spiked Sanji and sent the cook plummeting down to the ground. "LARGE!" **KRASH!**

"_**THE GROGGY MONSTERS STOMP THE COMPETITION FLAT WITH A SPECTACULAR THREE-MAN TEAM ATTACK."**_

When the dust kicked up by Sanji's collision with the ground finally cleared, both the cook and the swordsman were left lying bloodied, battered and unconscious on the ground.

Luffy gaped in shock, Usopp cried, Nami had her mouth covered in terror, Robin stared calmly.

"Sure is a cruel way to win," Robin remarked.

"Get up Zoro!" Luffy urged his Nakama. "Come on Sanji!"

Chopper struggled to hold back tears as he watched from Porche's tight hold.

"_**BOTH BALLS ARE STILL IN PLAY BUT IT LOOKS LIKE ZORO AND SANJI FROM TEAM STRAW HAT ARE BOTH DOWN FOR THE COUNT. IN FACT, YOU MIGHT SAY THEY'RE GRRRROGGY! NOW ALL THAT'S LEFT IS TO STUFF THE BALL-MAN INTO HIS COFFIN-I MEAN GOAL AND IT WILL BE TWO WINS IN A ROW FOR THE FOXY PIRATES."**_

Ricky pushed himself back up and stared at the Groggy Monsters as the stood in a circle around his own unconscious teammates Zoro and Sanji and struck poses for their adoring crew.

"_**IT JUST GOES TO SHOW, YOU CAN'T KEEP A GOOD MONSTER DOWN!"**_

"This is what happens when we don't work as a team…" Ricky muttered as he now found himself in a three-on-one situation.

**-x-**

**Teamwork:**

**-x-**

"_**ZORO AND SANJI ARE BOTH DOWN AND OUT. RICKY THE BALL-MAN IS ALONE ON HIS SIDE OF THE FIELD. IT LOOKS LIKE THE MATCH IS ABOUT TO COME TO A CONCLUSION WHICH MEANS ANOTHER WIN FOR OUR GROGGY MONSTERS."**_

"The match isn't over yet," Ricky insisted. "I'm still standing."

"Oh right, we still need to score," Pickles realized.

"Pupupupu! What an oversight!" Hamburg laughed.

"I'll tell ya what," Pickles said. "How 'bout you just jump in that ring on your own and we won't have to rough ya up like your two pals."

Ricky's eye narrowed. "Go fuck yourself."

"_**MORE PROFANITY FROM THE STRAW HATS! NO WONDER HE DEFENDED THAT SOULESS WITCH AND THE SAVAGE COOK, HE'S THE WORST OF THE LOT."**_

"DON'T PROVOKE THEM, YOU IDIOT!" Nami yelled.

Ricky walked passed the mid-circle and stood over Zoro and Sanji.

"I promised my furry little brother that I'd win him back," Ricky stated. "My teammates spent more time fighting each other than they fought you guys so now I'm on my own. But if you think I'm just gonna roll over and give up when that little guy is counting on me to win this, you've got another thing coming!"

"**Oh boys, I have a little request…" **the Groggy Monsters turned to the sidelines at the sound of Foxy's sinister voice. "ONE MONSTER BURGER, PLEASE!" The Straw Hats stared in confusion but all around them the Foxy Pirates' jaws dropped open in shock. "FEHFEHFEH!"

"Huh?" Nami questioned.

"Now what could that be?" Robin wondered.

"Did someone say burgers?" Luffy asked. "'Cause I could go for one."

"Is that all you ever think about?" Usopp scolded him.

"_**UH-OH! DID YOU HEAR THAT? OUR BOSS HAS JUST ORDERED THE FAMOUS MONSTER BURGER!"**_

"…" The Foxy Pirates were still in shock but then as one they broke into a humongous cheer. "YYEEEEAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"Fehfehfeh…" Foxy chuckled to himself.

Ricky's eye narrowed as he watched Hamburg reach into the front of his pants. "Really? Right here? In front of everyone?"

**SWISH! **Hamburg pulled out two huge metal clubs and started to bang them on the ground. **BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

"How'd those even fit there?" Ricky questioned then watched as Pickles reached into his pants. "Oh great, you too."

**SWISH! **Pickles pulled out two long swords that were each well over twenty feet long and spun them around at his sides. **SWISH-WISH-WISH!**

"I GET THAT YOU GUYS ARE CHEATERS!" Nami snapped, "BUT CAN YOU AT LEAST TRY TO HIDE IT!"

Then, to make matters even worse, the Groggy Monsters started to sing.

"Grind 'im all up like burger meat…" Hamburg chanted.

"Slice 'im like pickles sour or sweat…" Pickles chimed in.

"WHAT ARE THE TOPPINGS?" a group of Foxy Pirates called out.

"A ripe red tomato… freshly squeezed…" Hamburg and Pickles sang.

"Sheesheeshee!" Big Pan laughed as he held two huge steel pans on his giant webbed hands. "Smash between some big pans… what do I see?" **BANG! BANG! BANG! **Big Pan smashed the two big pans together.

"A monster burger for me to eat!" Hamburg, Pickles and Big Pan finished together.

"_**HERE IT COMES! THE MOST TERRIFYING TRIPLE ATTACK! THE MOST HORRIFYING HAMBURGER!"**_

Foxy let out a shrill laugh, "FEHFEHFEHFEHFEH!"

"_**IT SEEMS HOPELESS FOR THE STRAW HATS. BUT I CAN'T HELP BUT THINK THAT THE GROGGY MONSTERS MIGHT GET HANDED A RED CARD FOR SUCH A BLATANT VIOLATION OF THE RULES."**_

The referee was, of course, looking away from the ring as he bent backwards for more stretches.

"_**BUT LOOK AT THAT. THE REFEREE APPEARS TO BE DOING SOME STRETCHES RIGHT NOW. OH WELL, HE CAN'T CATCH EVERYTHING!"**_

"I'M GONNA MAKE HIM TURN AROUND!" Luffy hollered.

"KICK HIS ASS LUFFY!" Nami snarled right next to him. "He can't give _you _a Red Card! If Foxy can interfere in the Donut Race then as Captain you should be able to interfere in this one by punching that guy's teeth in!"

"YEAAAH!" Luffy cheered as he punched his fists together.

"ROBIN! HEEELP!" Usopp whined as he was dragged along the ground by Luffy and Nami in a clearly failed attempt to hold them back.

"Doce Fleur…" Twelve arms grew out of the ground and grabbed onto Luffy and Nami to assist Usopp in holding them back.

"Guys! He wants you to get mad so you'll butt in and do something stupid!" Usopp insisted. "Knowing him, he'll give _Ricky_ the Red Card if you interfere! That biased commentator will say we lose by forfeit and then Foxy will take another one of our crew! You can't let that happen!"

"_**THE PREPARATIONS ARE NOW COMPLETE. ALL THAT'S LEFT NOW IS TO SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE CARNAGE! WHATEVER HAPPENS FROM HERE ON OUT, DON'T BLAME ME!"**_

Ricky stared up at the Groggy Monsters and their Monsters Burger weapons. "Bring it on then."

**BOOM! BOOM! **Hamburg pounded the ground with his clubs as he led the charge at Ricky.

**SWISH-WISH-WISH-WISH! **Pickles and his swords spun after him like a green tornado.

**BANG! BANG! BANG! **Big Pan smashed his pans together as he followed behind them.

**SWISH! **Ricky ducked under Hamburg's first swing then deflected the second with a kick. **THWAK! **He spun and drove his foot into Hamburg's stomach. "Machete… BACK KICK!" **THWHAM! **Hamburg was knocked backwards.

Pickles stopped spinning and tackled his teammate, "SLING TACKLE!" **WHAM!**

Hamburg was knocked back at Ricky and smashed his club into his stomach. **WHAM! **Ricky doubled over and coughed up blood. Hamburg landed and swung his second club in low. **WHAM! **He smashed the club into Ricky's stomach and knocked him up into the air.

**SKISH! **Hamburg jumped up to meet Ricky and smacked him with his club. **WHAM! **Ricky was sent flying towards Pickles.

"I can't watch!" Nami wailed as she dropped to her knees covered her eyes with her hands.

Pickles spun in place and slashed his swords. **SLISH-SLISH-SLISH-SLASH! **Blood rained down on the field as Ricky was turned inside out and went flying up to Big Pan.

"BIG PAN!" Big Pan raised his pans above and below Ricky and brought them together. **BANG!**

Big Pan pulled his pans apart and Ricky dropped limply to the ground between Zoro and Sanji.

"_**NOW SERVING, ONE MONSTER BURGER!"**_

"GAH! RICKY!" Luffy shrieked. "YOU CHEATING BASTARDS! I DARE YOU TO COME TRY THAT ON ME!"

"RICKY! OH NO!" Usopp wailed. "THEY KILLED HIM! THEY KILLED HIM!"

"Robin…" Nami spoke up in a small voice. "How bad is it?"

"He's too far away for me to tell if he's even still breathing," Robin answered.

"_**ALL THAT'S LEFT IS NOW TO PEEL HIM OFF THE FIELD AND DROP HIM IN THE RING THEN THIS MATCH IS OVER!"**_

Ricky laid still on the ground but beside him Zoro's eyes slowly opened.

"Hey…" he called out to Sanji. "Let's work… together for… ten seconds…"

Sanji tilted his head to the side and he spotted Nami on her knees and in tears on the sideline.

"Okay, fine," Sanji agreed, "But no longer."

"_**THAT WASN'T FOR THE FEINT OF HEART! BUT THAT'S WHAT HE GETS FOR OFFENDING THE GROGGY MONSTERS. THIS MATCH IS FINISHED! THE STRAW HATS PUT UP A GOOD FIGHT BUT WERE SIMPLY NO MATCH FOR OUR REIGNING CHAMPS. NOW WITH TWO WINS IN A ROW FOR THE FOXY PIRATES AND ONE ADORABLE NEW DOCTOR ON THE CREW, WE MUST WONDER WHO CAPTAIN FOXY WILL CHOOSE NEXT."**_

"HEY WAIT! LOOK!" one of the Foxy Pirates called out.

Zoro and Sanji were on their feet standing over Ricky.

"_**THEY'RE UP! AGAINST ALL ODDS THE STRAW HATS ARE BACK ON THEIR FEET! EVEN AFTER A DEMORALIZING BEAT DOWN, THE SWORDSMAN WITHOUT HIS SWORDS AND THE SAVAGE CHEF STAND TALL IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY ONCE AGAIN!"**_

"YEEEAAAAH!" Luffy cheered.

"YOU GUYS!" Usopp sobbed. "DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!"

"_**THE QUESTION IS: EVEN IF THEY CAN STAND, DO THEY HAVE ENOUGH STRENGTH TO FIGHT?"**_

"OH BOYS!" Foxy called out, "TWO MORE MONSTERS BURGERS!"

"OH NO! NOT AGAIN!" Usopp shrieked.

"NO! NO MORE!" Nami cried.

"_**WE'RE GONNA NEED MORE COFFINS! THE CAPTAIN JUST ORDERED TWO MORE MONSTER BURGERS!"**_

"Pupupupu!" Hamburg laughed. "One more time! Grind 'em all up like burger meat…"

"Slice 'em like pickles sour or sweet…"

"AND TOPPINGS!" the Foxy Pirates called out.

"A head of green lettuce and some fine yellow cheese…" Hamburg and Pickles chanted together.

"Smash between some big pans what do I see…" Big Pan chimed in.

"Two more Monster Burgers for me to eat!" the Groggy Monsters all finished together.

"_**HERE THEY GO AGAIN! AFTER THIS MATCH THERE WILL ONLY BE FOUR STRAW HATS LEFT TO CHOOSE FROM."**_

**BOOM! BOOM! **Hamburg pounded his clubs on the ground as he led the charge while Pickles spun after him.

"_**THEY'RE HEADED FOR THE SAVAGE CHEF, FIRST. UNLESS HE ACTS FAST, HE'LL BE GROUND AND POUNDED, SLICED AND DICED, TRASH AND SMASHED INTO A BURGER PATTY!"**_

"Alright then," Sanji said, "If you want a cooking battle you've got one. Though I've gotta warn you, I've never cooked scrumbags before so I can't say how it'll turn out."

"YOU ARE MINCEMEAT!" Hamburg called out as he lunged at Sanji.

Sanji launched himself at Hamburg with a series of flip, **Fwip! Fwip! Fwip! **"TROISIEME HACHEE!" **THWAK-WAK-WAK-WAK! **Sanji flipped straight in between Hamburg's clubs and drove his foot into his face for a barrage of kicks. **THUD! **Hamburg toppled over and Sanji flipped over him. Sanji raised his foot and brought it down on Hamburg's chest. **THWHAM! **Hamburg's body bounced up off of the ground and Sanji spun in and landed another barrage of kicks to his back. **THWAK-WAK-WAK! **

**SKISH! **Sanji launched himself up over Hamburg and drove his feet down into his face. **THWHAM! **Sanji flipped off of Hamburg and landed on his hands. "BOUQUETIERE… SHOOT!" **THWAK! **Sanji shot up and drove both his feet into Hamburg's chin and sent him flying.

**WHOOOSH! **Hamburg flew up through the air over the still-spinning Pickles' head.

Pickles watched in horror as Hamburg landed in between Big Pan's pans. "STOP CRUSHING!"

**BANG! **Big Pan smashed his pans together on Hamburg and flattened his captain.

"NO! HAMBURG!" Pickles cried out.

"Huh…?" Big Pan grunted as he pulled his pans apart and watched Hamburg drop to the ground.

"YOUR'E GONNA PAY FOR THAT!" Pickles yelled as he spun towards Sanji.

**Swwish… **Zoro slid into Pickles' path. He ducked under the spinning swords and caught the big man by his legs. **WHAP! **"Hold up, fatty. Did you forget about me?"

"OUTTA MY WAY SMALL FRY!" Pickles snapped as he kept spinning in Zoro's hold. "I'LL SLICE YOU TO PIECES!"

Zoro closed his eyes and concentrated. "No-swords-style… DRAGON TWISTER!" **SLA-SLISH! **Zoro slashed out with his bare hands for his own tornado attack and sent Pickles flying up through the air towards Big Pan.

Pickles was still spinning as he flew between Big Pan's pans and drilled into the wotan's chest. **SLISH-SLISH-SLISH-SLISH-SLISH! **

"RAAAH!" Big Pan howled as he was pushed all the way back to his own mid-circle.

"_**OH NO! SAY IT ISN'T SO! BIG PAN HAS FALLEN VICTIM TO PICKLES' SPINNING BLADE ATTACK!"**_

"Someone help me!" Pickles cried out. "I can't stop spinning!" He stopped spinning. And dropped to the ground. **THUD!**

**SKISH! **Sanji slid passed Pickles and he went through Big Pan's legs and stopped behind him. "BAD MANNERS… KICK COURSE!" Sanji shot up into the air and drove his foot straight up into the falling Big Pan's back. **THWHAM! **Sanji's powerful kicked knocked the nearly toppled Wotan all the way back up onto his feet.

"GAAH…" Big Pan groaned as he stood groggily on his feet.

"_**WHA-WHA-WHAT?" **_Itomimizu shrieked. _**"NOT ONLY DID THEY KNOCK BIG PAN DOWN. BUT THEY KNOCKED HIM RIGHT BACK UP TOO! ALTHOUGH BIG PAN IS INDEED ON HIS FEET, I DON'T THINK HE HAS ANY IDEA WHERE HE'S AT NOW. TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, PICKLES IS LOOKING PRETTY DAZED HIMSELF. TEAM FOXY IS IN A REAL PINCH!"**_

Zoro charged across the field towards the two remaining Groggy Monsters.

"_**NOW ZORO IS CHARGING IN! WILL HE BE ABLE TO OVERTAKE BIG PAN IN HIS STATE OF CONFUSION?"**_

"GGGRRR!" Pickles growled as he spotted Zoro. "YOU'RE NOT PASSED ME!" He was so caught up looking at Zoro behind him that he didn't notice Sanji charging in from behind until the cook kicked him in the face. **THWHAM!**

Pickles flew across the ring. The Foxy Pirates on the sidelines screamed and scattered… except for the referee who was still looking away from the match. **WHAM! ** Pickles slammed into the referee and crashed down on top of him.

"I've had enough of your crap," Sanji called after Pickles. "And that goes for the ref too."

"_**THE CROWD-ALONG WITH THE REF-TAKES A DIRECT HIT FROM THE FLYING PICKLES. DID SANJI HAVE AN ULTERIOR MOTIVE PERHAPS?"**_

"Uuugghhh… uugghhh…" the referee groaned as he dragged himself out from under Pickles. "You did that… on… purpose… uughh… Red Card!" The referee pulled out a card. But it wasn't his Red Card. It was a playing card with Sanji's face on it.

The referee blinked and stared at the strange card in surprise. "Wait a sec… my cards… my whistle… they're all gone!" **FWUMP! **The referee promptly fainted.

"Fufufufu," Robin chuckled, "You're such a naughty girl."

"What can I say?" Nami replied as she reached through the whistle around her neck and into her shirt to pull out the referee's Red and Yellow Cards. "Old habits die hard. Hehe…"

"Hah… ha…" Ricky gave a weak groan as he laid in a puddle of his own blood and finally opened his eye. "I love that girl…"

Zoro ignored the fact that Pickles was gone and charged across the field straight at Sanji.

"_**OH! THIS IS BAD! HERE THEY GO AGAIN. WITH VICTORY WITHIN THEIR GRASP THE STRAW HATS TURN ON EACH OTHER!"**_

**SKISH! **Zoro jumped while Sanji swung his leg at him. **Tmp! **Zoro landed on Sanji's leg.

"ARMEE DE L'AIR… POWER SHOOT!" **WOOOOSH! **Sanji swing his leg and sent Zoro flying all the way up to Big Pan.

**Whap! **Zoro grabbed onto Big Pan's upper lip as he fell passed him and brought the dazed Wotan back down again.

"_**INCREDIBLE! BIG PAN… THE MASSIVE WOTAN WARRIOR…"**_

"NOOOOO!" the Foxy Pirates screamed.

"ALRIGHT!" the Straw Hat Pirates cheered.

"_**IS HEADED FOR THE GOAL RING!"**_

"RAAAAAH!" Zoro roared as he came down and drove Big Pan head first down into the ring. **WHAAAM! **The ground shoot as the rest of Big Pan's big body dropped limply to the ground.

"_**GOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL!"**_

**-x-**

**Luffy's Choice:**

**-x-**

"_**IT GOES IN! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL!"**_

"WOOO! YEAH! WAY TO GO!" Nami cheered while Robin smiled beside her.

"YEAH! ALRIGHT!" Luffy shouted as he threw and a crying Usopp held each other and swayed from side-to-side. "WE WON! HA! WE WON!"

"I'M… SO… HAPPY!" Usopp bawled.

"WAAAH!" Chopper cried. "YOU GUYS! RICKY! ZORO! SANJI!"

"Aw, no fair!" Porche complained as she clung to the reindeer. "He's mine! You can't have him!"

"Awesome!" one of the Foxy Pirates remarked. "Those guys are amazing!"

"Bravo! Bravo!" another Foxy Pirate cheered while a third let out a whistle of approval.

"Do your best in the third round too!" a four Foxy Pirate encouraged the Straw Hats.

"SHADDAP!" Foxy snapped at his crew. "WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON ANYWAY, YOU TRAITORS?" Foxy turned and glared at the field. "I can't believe this! Nobody's ever beaten the Groggy Monsters!"

The referee finally opened his eyes.

"Oh, hi ref," Nami greeted him. "Wakey, wakey. Look, you dropped your whistle. You'd better make your call. Go ahead and give it a blow." Nami held the whistle out to the delirious referee.

"Oh… thank you…" the referee grunted as he looked back over at Pickles. "That last move was a flagrant foul if I've ever seen one. He's out of the game!" The referee snatched his whistle back and blew into it.

**TWWWEEEEEEEEEEE!**

"_**AND THAT'S THE FINAL WHISTLE! THERE YOU HAVE IT FOLKS. THE GROGGY RING MATCH IS OFFICIALLY OVER!"**_

**BLOOM! BLOOM! BLOOM! **Fireworks went off to signify the end of the match.

"YEAH! YEAH!" Chopper cheered. "THEY DID IT!"

"SHISHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed as he and Usopp continued to rock together.

"I CAN'T STOP… CRYING!" Usopp sobbed.

Behind them, Robin gave a small smile. "Go team."

Nami smirked at the referee, "Nice work!" she taunted the shocked referee. "You're a real pro!"

"Hah…ha…" Ricky let out a weak laugh. "Love that girl."

"Oh, so you're still alive," Zoro noted. "I'm guess you're delirious though." Zoro bent down and lifted Ricky up off of the ground and slung his arm over his shoulder.

Hamburg, Pickles and Big Pan were all left lying unconscious on the field.

"_**IT'S THE END OF AN ERA. THE GROGGY MONSTERS HAVE FINALLY BEEN DETHRONED AS THE KINGS OF THE RING. OUR NEW CHAMPIONS AND WINNERS OF THE SECOND ROUND ARE ZORO, SANJI AND RICKY OF THE STRAW HAT PIRATES!"**_

"SHISHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed. "What did you think would happen? Like our guys would ever lose to you!"

"NAAMIII! ROOOBIIIN!" Sanji practically sang as he noodle danced over to the two women. "Was I great? Huh? Was I?"

"You were just wonderful," Robin told him.

**Whak! Whak! **Usopp chopped Zoro over the head. "You're nothing but a jerk! Don't scare me like that!"

"Hey, hey, stop," Zoro complained.

"I'm so glad you followed my plan after all!" Usopp gushed.

"Your… plan?" Ricky weakly repeated as he hung half-limp off of Zoro's shoulder. "I was telling them… to work together… from the beginning. I got turned into… a burger… because they wouldn't follow it."

"But we did in the end right," Zoro pointed out. "That has to count for something."

"I just want to… get our doctor back…" Ricky stated, "So I can figure out… how many of my internal organs are still intact…"

Nami turned to face Zoro and Ricky with her arms folded over her chest.

"What?" Ricky asked. "Want to finish me off? It wouldn't take much at this rate…"

"Idiot," Nami grunted as she turned away from him.

**-x-**

Itomimizu flew above the stage. Everyone had left the field and were now waiting the result of the second round.

"_**NOW AS I'M SURE YOU ALL KNOW, AT THE END OF OUR FIGHT OUR WINNERS, THE STRAW HAT PIRATES, GET TO CLAIM THEIR HARD EARNED PRIZE! WILL THEY TAKE A MEMBER OF FOXY'S CREW? OR WILL THEY TAKE HIS JOLLY ROGER? EITHER WAY, ITS UP TO THEIR CAPTAIN AND THEIR CAPTAIN ALONE. DRUMROLL PLEASE…"**_

Luffy stared at the Foxy Pirates in front of the stage and at the reindeer that was once again seated in a chair on the stage.

"Well, the choice is obvious isn't it?" Luffy pointed out.

"_He's going to pick me," _a Foxy Pirate thought to himself.

"_I get it… they want me don't they? They've wanted me this whole time."_

"_My heart… my heart isn't ready to say farewell yet…"_

"_Oh no! He's looking this way! He's gonna take me! I know it!"_

"_I bet it'll be me. So long guys."_

"_I don't wanna go…"_

"_I'll put a smile on my face for my friends… even if I'm crying on the inside."_

"_Curses! Why do I have to be so lovable?"_

"_Come on Luffy!" _the only Foxy Pirate that mattered thought to himself as he sat in his chair on the stage. _"Please…"_

"Okay!" Luffy called out, "I choose…"

"Hold on!" Nami interrupted causing the Foxy Pirates to face-fault.

"What's up Nami?" Luffy asked.

"Think about it," Nami said, "Their boss is probably gonna take part in the next round, right? We've already seen what his Slow Slow Beam can do. If he fights we won't stand a chance in any game no matter what the rules are. So the answer is obvious. If Foxy is gonna be our biggest treat in round three then we should recruit _him_ so we have the advantage. Sure, we'd all like to get Chopper back. But if we end up losing the next round they'll probably take him right back and then our win will go to waste. And since his crew will be dumbstruck when they lose their precious boss we'll stomp 'em no problem and claim Chopper in round three. Then we're guaranteed to keep him for good. Get it?"

"That's devious…" Ricky spoke over Luffy. "I love it."

"_**AH! NO! SAY IT ISN'T SO! THEY'RE REALLY GONNA TAKE OUR CAPTAIN AWAY?"**_

"WHAT! THAT'S THE PEANUT STRATEGY!" an angry Foxy Pirate exclaimed.

"You guy are the lowest of the low!"

"Go home! Lousy peanutters!"

"Are you afraid to fight us fair?"

"BOOO! BOOO! HIIISSSS! PEA-NUT! PEA-NUT! PEA-NUT!"

"_**ALTHOUGH THERE'S NO RULE AGAINST THIS STRATEGY IT CERTAINLY SEEMS A BIT UNDERHANDED. A LITTLE CHEATING IS EXPECTED OF PIRATES BUT SUDDENLY TAKING A CREW'S CAPTAIN AWAY IN THE MIDDLE OF A GAME IS NO DIFFERENT FROM RUNNING AWAY FROM A FIGHT. SHAME! SHAME! SHAME ON YOUR STRAW HATS! AND SHAME ON THE HEARTLESS DEVIL OF A WOMAN WHO CAME UP WITH THIS PLAN! YOU'RE TRULY A NEFARIOUS NAVIGATOR NAMI!"**_

"AH!" Nami gasped as all the jeers from the Foxy Pirates and the commentator struck her.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK TRASH ABOUT NAMI!" Sanji berated the still booing and jeering Foxy Pirates. "I'M GONNA FILLET YOU PUNKS!"

"_**IN ALL THE HISTORY OF DAVY BACK FIGHTS, NO ONE HAS EVER HAD THE AUDACITY TO PULL SUCH A LOUSY, NO-GOOD STUNT! SO WHAT DO YOU SAY MEN? YOU CAN'T CALL A WIN AGAINST A CRW WITH NO CAPTAIN A TRUE VICTORY, CAN YOU?"**_

"NOOO!" the Foxy Pirates chorused.

"_**AFTER SWEARING ON DAVY JONES' NAME, IS IT RIGHT TO THROW AWAY YOUR HONOR AS A PIRATE JUST TO WIN A MATCH?"**_

"NOOO! PEA-NUTS! PEA-NUTS! PEA-NUTS!"

Tears spilled out from Nami's eyes as she automatically turned to Ricky but then stopped and turned to hug Robin instead. "Why are they so mean?" Robin awkwardly patted the crying navigator's back.

"Well, even if it doesn't go against the rules," Robin said, "It does seem to go against some of their pirate sensibilities."

Ricky looked from the crying Nami to the still jeering Foxy crew. He pushed himself off of Zoro's shoulder

"You lousy… low-brow… spineless… cheating… BASTARDS!" Ricky snarled as he stalked towards the Foxy Pirates. He left a small trail of blood in his wake. "You blatantly interfered and cheated to win the first round… You pick Chopper so he couldn't compete in the second round… Your team blatantly cheated by breaking the no weapons rule multiple times… Your lousy cheat of a referee pointedly ignored your cheating and he penalized us so we had to win that match _twice_… We got pounded, pummeled, slashed and smashed… but we pulled through and won. And now, we decide to make a choice… that's completely legal! And you have the AUDACITY protest it! Worse yet… you made that amazing woman cry for even suggesting something the slightest bit underhanded! You do realize we wouldn't have to resort to this if you guys had competed with honor in the first place and followed the rules!"

Nami looked back over her shoulder then tilted her head up and whispered into Robin's ear.

Ricky's legs gave out and he dropped to his knees but he immediately pushed himself back up. "_You _challenged a Captain who had no idea what it was to a Davy Back Fight. _You _swore on Davy Jones' name to abide by the rules of the Davy Back Fight. _You _cheated in both rounds. And now _you_ DARE to question our honor as pirates! _You _should be ashamed, you sniveling, whiny, honorless cheaters!" **Fwump! **Ricky's legs gave out again and he dropped back to the ground. "Yup... still bleeding..."

"Yeah!" Usopp chimed in and jumped in front of Ricky. "I'm with Nami on this one! Shame! Shame on you!"

"I don't know, this doesn't seem right," Zoro said, "Why don't you grow a backbone, Nami?"

**WHOMP! **Zoro was now unconscious.

"YOU'RE JUST MAKING A BIG FUSS BECAUSE YOU LOST!" Nami berated the Foxy Pirates. "HOW 'BOUT YOU SHUT UP AND DEAL WITH IT!"

"Yes ma'am we're sorry!" Foxy exclaimed as his terrified crew stood around him in shock.

"_**UNDERHANDED WITCH THOUGH SHE IS, THE GIRL IS RIGHT…"**_

"Don't make me come up there!" Ricky growled.

"_**MONKEY D. LUFFY IS THE CAPTAIN OF THE WINNING TEAM. HE GETS TO DECIDE HOW THIS BATTLE WILL UNFOLD. THAT MEANS HE'S FREE TO CHOOSE ANYONE HE LIKES. INCLUDING FOXY HIMSELF."**_

The unimportant Foxy Pirates all whimpered and whined to themselves at the prospect of Luffy picking them.

"_Straw Hat… you little punk!" _Foxy himself growled. _"You're really going to choose me aren't you? Yes, it's obvious. It was probably your plan all along. Farewell Foxy Pirates, farewell my wonderful crew, I'll say goodbye with a smile on my face. I owe you that much at least. If having such a charming personality and stunning looks is a sin then I accept my punishment. Those poor Straw Hats really need a poster boy for their crew. I can't blame them for wanting me. I can't blame anyone for wanting me."_

"Say… just a quick though," Robin spoke up and finally interrupted Foxy's vein internal monologue. "That plan of yours Miss. Navigator, although it would give us a big advantage, you realize it would actually make Foxy a part of our crew."

"Oh…" Nami said. "Yeah, one fox is enough."

"Yeah, I think I'll pass," Luffy, a newly conscious Zoro, Sanji and Usopp chorused.

Foxy dropped to the ground and moped.

"Ah!" one of the Foxy Pirates whined. "Our sweet Captain's heart has been crushed under the weight of those cruel words!"

"It's one thing to turn him down but did they have to do it like that?"

"Aw… it's okay…" Porche tried to console Foxy. "Even if they don't want you we still do."

"You're always welcome here," another Foxy Pirate insisted.

"D-do you m-mean it?" Foxy whimpered.

"Nobody makes fun of our boss and gets away with it!" a Foxy Pirate growled.

"Yeah! You'll see! We'll get 'em in the next round!"

"We won't let you down boss, I promise!"

"We love you!"

"_You guys… thank you," _Foxy gushed as he literally glowed from the admiration of his crew. _"I promise I will never leave! You're the only crew for me!"_

"Cut the crap, will ya?" Sanji snapped. **Fwump! **Foxy face-faulted.

"_**IF THE STRAW HATS ARE DONE EMOTIONALLY ABUSING OUR BOSS, CAN THEIR NO-GOOD CAPTAIN FINALLY MAKE HIS DECISION? HURRY UP ALRIGHT!"**_

"Fine," Luffy stated. "In that case, there's someone I wanna take back."

On the stage, Chopper lit up and smiled.

"SHELLY!"

"Who _the hell_ is Shelly?" Ricky wondered while Usopp and Nami gaped in shock.

Tonjit who had been sitting beside the stage with his beloved horse all through the first two rounds looked up. "Huh?"

"_**WHAT A TURN OF EVENTS! THE CAPTAIN OF THE STRAW HATS HAS CHOSEN SHELLY. A HORSE THAT CAPTAIN FOXY PICKED UP ON A WHIM AFTER COMING TO THIS ISLAND. IS THIS PURE GENIUS OR JUST PLAIN IDIOCY?"**_

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU DID, YOU SORRY EXCUSE FOR A CAPTAIN?" Usopp hollered Luffy as he grabbed Luffy's ear and stretched his face out.

"Yeah, of course," Luffy replied.

"LISTEN!" Nami snarled as she grabbed Luffy other ear and stretched his face in the other direction. "I KNOW YOU DIDN'T LIKE MY FOXY PLAN BUT THIS IS A BAJILLION TIMES WORSE!"

"Okay… but could you stop stretching my face like that?" Luffy requested.

"We promised Chopper we'd win him back," Ricky pointed out. "And I really needed a doctor..."

"Did you hear that little Choppy?" Porche cooed to Chopper as she nuzzled him with her face. "Looks like you get to stay with us after-all."

"FEHFEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed at Luffy's dumb choice.

"I know I told you not to pick Chopper but I wouldn't have said that if I knew you'd pick some _horse_!" Nami snapped as he yanked on Luffy's ear. She and Usopp finally let go and Luffy's face finally snapped back the way it was.

Luffy looked up in time to see Tonjit wheel Shelly over on a cart.

"There you go stilts-guy," Luffy said, "Now you have your horse back once and for all."

"How can I thank you?" Tonjit asked.

"Seeing you together is thanks enough," Luffy replied.

"Hey, your friends don't look so good," Tonjit remarked. "That last match was a doozy. Are yo sure they're okay?"

"I blame it all on that loser with the crazy eyebrows," Zoro insisted.

"YOU BASTARD!" Sanji snapped as he charged Zoro and the two started fighting again.

"They sure are a lively pair aren't they," Tonjit noted.

"I still have no idea who this guy is," Ricky stated.

Robin came over and held her hand out to Ricky, "Need a hand, Mr. One Eye?" Ricky grabbed Robin's hand and she pulled him up to his feet. "By the way…" Robin reached out and hugged Ricky then quickly pecked him on the cheek.

"R-Robin…" Ricky sputtered as he leaned away from her.

"That wasn't from me," Robin informed him.

Ricky looked over at Nami who pointedly looked away.

"This means so much," Tonjit told Luffy. "Really, thank you."

"Don't sweat it," Luffy reassured him.

**NEEEIINEEEII **Shelly chimed in as she nuzzled Tonjit.

"Good girl," Tonjit commented as he patted his beloved horse. "Shelly says 'thank you' too."

"Ugh, guess I can't blame him," Nami sighed.

"Yeah," Usopp agreed, "That is totally what I would have done."

"Allow me to repay you for your kindness by treating you to some cheese back at my house," Tonjit offered.

"NOT IN A MILLION YEARS!" Usopp yelled.

"Heh," Tonjit chuckled and bowed. "It's your loss. Suit yourself."

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed, "Just keep off the stilts, okay?"

"Are you sure about this though?" Tonjit questioned. "What about your little reindeer friend?"

"Yeah, you jerk?" Nami snapped, "How do you think he feels being left with those weird-os?"

Chopper sniffed and cried on the stage, "Luffy…"

"Poor little guy…" Nami commented.

Luffy turned to Chopper. "Chopper, I'm sorry. I know this is hard on you but no matter what I promise we'll win the next game and get you back. So hang on a little longer, okay? I know you can take it. After all, you're a man, right?"

"YOU BET I AM!" Chopper chirped as he crossed his arms and plopped back down in his chair.

"Hehehe," Nami laughed, "That's our Chopper."

"Leave it to me little pal," Usopp boasted, "You'll be just fine."

"If you're Chopper's last hope, he's screwed," Sanji stated.

"Still need a doctor…" Ricky muttered. "Now we have to win another round before I can get looked over."

"Fufufu," Robin chuckled, "Now that you mention it, I wonder what the next game will be."

"Humph, whatever it is, I'm ready for it," Zoro insisted.

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed. "We're gonna have Chopper back in no time."

**-x-**

Next chapter is Round 3: the Round, Round, Round.

'Till Next Time…

Peace!


	4. Round 3

**Another Nakama IV**

**Disclaimer:** The following is a non-profit fanfic. One Piece and all the related characters are owned by Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV, Shueisha, Shonnan Jump Manga and Eiichiro Oda. QPython only owns the original characters that he created for this story.'

**Round 3:**

**-x-**

Tonjit and Shelly made their way through the crowd of Foxy Pirates as they prepared for the third round of the Davy Back Fight.

The shipwrights and carpenters on Foxy's crew were hard at work constructing two large sets of stands for the crew to sit on and watch the final event.

**Neeiiigghh… **Shelly hung her head and looked concerned.

"Shelly, don't worry girl," Tonjit reassured his horse. "Our friends will be just fine. All we ca do is cheer them on." Tonjit made his way to one of the numerous foods stands. "Two fried squids and a sausage on a stick."

"You got it," the Foxy Pirate manning the stand replied.

Beyond the food stands and the Davy Back Fight carnival that the Foxy Pirates had set up near their ship, the partially constructed stands loomed overhead. In addition to the stands, the Foxy Pirates were hard at work making an oval-shaped track.

"Hey, where'd you guys put my tools?" one of the workers called out.

Down below, Foxy Pirates dragged a mini-steamroller around the Groggy Ring field to make a flat, paved surface.

Say what you will about the Foxy Pirates' cheating methods but they certainly knew how to host a Davy Back Fight and how to do it with flair.

**-x-**

"This next game sounds like fun, don't you think?" Robin asked as she hung her purple jacket in a locker. She and Nami had taken over the locker room that the Foxy Pirates had provided for the Straw Hats.

"Fun?" Nami repeated. "That's kind of insensitive. Put yourself in Chopper's shoes for a second. Poor little guy."

"I didn't think of that," Robin admitted, "My apologies."

The two female Straw Hats had pulled on short yellow jerseys over their regular outfits. The yellow jerseys had white rectangles on the front and back that depicted red numbers. Nami's jersey was number 73 while Robin's was number 6.

"No big deal," Nami said as they made their way out of the locker room to the field. "It's these idiots that could use some sensitivity training."

Three of the five remaining Straw Hats were sitting outside of the locker room that they had been kicked out of. Sanji was dressed normally since he wasn't in this round but Luffy and Usopp both wore yellow Straw Hat jerseys that matched Nami and Robin's.

Luffy was number 1 and Usopp was number 800.

"Aaaah!" Sanji gasped at the sight of Nami and Robin. "You both are so lovely!"

"Hm?" Luffy grunted while he ate some food. "Are you ready for the match?"

**Bonk! **Nami knocked the overeager Sanji out of the way and glared at the Captain.

"What are you eating now, Luffy?" Nami demanded.

"It's a long kiwi," Luffy answered. He held up a long kiwi that was stretched to be the size of a cucumber. "The old horse guy gave it to me. It actually tastes pretty good... ...you can't have it."

"I DON'T WANT IT!" Nami yelled at him. "Where's Ricky?"

Usopp looked up from the roller skate that he was tinkering with. It was a regular wooden skate with two red wheels on each side. "Ricky said that didn't like his roller skates so he took Zoro with him to go request some new ones."

"Do you think it worked?" Robin inquired.

"**It did." **The others turned to see Ricky and Zoro. Ricky's yellow Straw Hat jersey had number 11 on it. He was also holding a pair of black inline skates with red wheels. "It's in the rules of Davy Back Fights that the crew being challenged can request specific equipment from the hosting crew."

"And they actually followed that rule?" Usopp asked.

"The guy didn't want to," Ricky admitted, "But I had a terrifying super-strong swordsman standing behind me so he was happy to agree."

Zoro shrugged, "Happy to help."

"I take it from the fact that you requested special gear that you've played this game before," Nami noted.

"You could say that," Ricky said with a foxy grin. "But that would be an understatement. Ace, Ollie and I _dominated _in this game. The only problems are that we're playing against a bunch of cheaters and I still haven't recovered from my hamburger injuries. It might be hard to land a clean sweep."

"WE'LL KICK THEIR ASSES!" Luffy exclaimed. "LET'S GET CHOPPER BACK!"

"YEAH!" Usopp and Nami cheered.

"Go team," Robin added.

**-x-**

The Groggy Ring field had now been transformed into a race track. Two sets of stands had been constructed on both sides. An oval track had been made around the white lines from the previous ball game. The straight areas were flat and paved but the turns at both ends of the track were tilted upward.

The stands had now been filled with the Foxy Pirates and Chopper carried on a special chair to a special seat in the front row.

"_**IT'S TIME FOR ROUND THREE!" **_Itomimizu announced as he flew above the track on Chirp Chirp, _**"THE ROUND, ROUND, ROUND ROLLER RACE! IT'S A HEAD-TO-HEAD RACE ON AN OUTDOOR TRACK. THE RULES ARE SIMPLE: AT THE SOUND OF THE WHISTLE EACH TEAM'S POINT-GETTER WILL START SKATING AROUND THE TRACK. TWENTY SECONDS LATER, THE SECOND WHISTLE WILL BLOW AND THE TEAM DEFENDERS WILL SET OFF. THE DEFENDERS CAN TRY TO HINDER THE OPPOSING TEAM OR SUPPORT THEIR POINT-GETTER, ANYTHING GOES! ASSUMING THE POINT-GETTERS AREN'T INJURED OR DISQUALIFIED, THE RACE WILL CONTINUE FOR FIVE MINUTES. AT THE END OF THAT TIME, THE TEAM WHOSE POINT-GETTER IS IN THE LEAD, WINS. AS LITTLE AS AN INCH COULD MEAN VICTORY OR DEFEAT."**_

**SWOOSH! **Chirp Chirp swooped down and landed on a bird swing. Itomimizu climbed up the swing to a nest with a commentary table in the middle of it.

"_**YOURS TRULY WILL BE PROVIDING THE PLAY-BY-PLAY WITH MY SPECIAL BIRD'S NEST VIEW RIGHT NEXT TO THE STARTING LINE. NOW ITS TIME FOR OUR TWO TALENTED TEAMS TO TAKE THE TRACK!"**_

"Alright guys," Luffy resolved as he finished off the last of his long kiwi. "No matter how bad they cheat, we've gotta get Chopper back this time. You ready?"

"YEAH!" the Straw Hats cheered as they all walked out from underneath the stands, across the track and onto the field with their arms raised.

"_**OOH! AND HERE COME THE STRAW HAT DANGERS, MAKING A GRAND ENTRANCE WITH A ROARING BATTLE CRY! COMPETING FOR THIS TEAM WE HAVE CAPTAIN MONKEY D. LUFFY, FIRST MATE RICKY, NAVIGATOR NAMI, SNIPER USOPP AND ARCHEOLOGIST NICO ROBIN. COOK SANJI IS THEIR HEAD COACH AND SWORDSMAN ZORO IS TEAM MANAGER."**_

"And there are our opponents," Ricky prompted as they glanced over at the other team.

The Foxy Pirate team all wore purple jerseys decorated with black lightning bolts.

"_**AND ON THIS END, THEIR ALL-POWERFUL OPPONENTS, THE FOXY DEVILS! FIRST UP, IS THE TEAM'S PLAYMAKER PORCHE!"**_

The Foxy Pirates cheered and their Idol waved to her adoring public. She had traded her usual pink puff-ball hat for a purple one to match her jersey but still wore her usual pink jumpsuit underneath.

"_**NEXT IS THE STUNNINGLY SPEEDY CHIQICHEETAH…"**_

**Chiqicheetah **lived up to the second part of his name and was half-man, half-cheetah. He had yellow fur instead of skin and a smattering of black spots on his neck. He had a furry cat-like face with long whiskers and wore a Foxy mask and Foxy ears over his cat ears. His purple Foxy Devil's uniform was completed with white shorts, purple elbow pads and purple knee pads.

"_**THE DEFENSIVE DYNAMO MASHIKAKU…"**_

**Mashikaku **was a large man with tan skin and short arms and legs. But he got his name from the fact that his big bulky body was one huge rectangle. His face was fat and featured jowls and multiple chins. He wore a black and white striped Foxy cap and an extra-large Foxy Devil's uniform which was completed by white shorts, knee pads and elbow pads.

"_**THE FIGHTING FISHMEN JUBE AND GIRARIN…"**_

**Jube **was a squid fishman with pink skin, eight arms and two legs. His black hair was tied back in a pointed-up ponytail. He wore a black Foxy mask and had a special Foxy Devil's jersey with four sleeves on each side for each of his arms.

**Girarin **was a pale purple fishman with dark purple stripes. He had green hair with a fin coming out of it on top of his head and wore a Foxy mask and Foxy ears. He wore the usual purple and black Foxy Devil's uniform with white shorts but had his arms folded behind his back.

"_**AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WE HAVE FOXY AS THE HEAD COACH AND HAMBURG AS THE TEAM MANAGER."**_

Foxy grinned smugly as he stood in front of his team. Hamburg had been treated by Foxy's Doctors and had recovered from the Groggy Ring Match and now stood behind Foxy with the Foxy Devils.

"_**THAT'S A MIGHTY LINE-UP IF I'VE EVER SEEN ONE!"**_

The Straw Hat Dangers and the Foxy Devils stared down. Chiqicheetah was the one that made the first move as he stepped passed Foxy, walked right up to Luffy and started sniffing him.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Luffy complained as he leaned away from the cat-like man.

"_**WHOA, WHAT IS CHIQICHEETAH UP TO? IS HE INTIMIDATING LUFFY BEFORE THE START OF THE MATCH?"**_

Chiqicheetah continued to wordlessly sniff Luffy.

"What's with this weird-o?" Usopp wondered. "He's kind of creeping me out."

"So they've got a Cheetah Zoan in this race," Ricky noted. "I'd be worried if he clearly wasn't more cat than human."

"Fehfehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed. "His feet are indeed a feat of wonder but his nose is impressive too. You ate something pungent didn't you?"

"Ah!" Luffy remembered the long kiki he'd eaten as he pushed Chiqicheetah away from him.

"Uh oh, Luffy, he's onto you!" Usopp teased him. "That's what you get for eating that old man's cheese!"

"Oh, is that why?" Luffy asked.

"THAT WAS A JOKE!" Usopp exclaimed. "You didn't actually eat that did you?"

"I can't remember," Luffy admitted before he finally shoved Chiqicheetah off of him. "Learn some manners will ya! Shoo! Shoo! Go away!"

Chiqicheetah let out a faint growl as he trudged away and went behind Foxy again.

"_**Uh… wow… OKAY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT WAS ABOUT. BUT ANYWAY, NOW THAT THAT'S DONE WITH, LET'S GET BACK TO THE RULES. IN ADDITION TO THE DEFENDERS AND POINT-GETTERS EACH TEAM ALSO HAS A COACH AND MANAGER. BUT UNLIKE THE OTHER PLAYERS THEY'RE LIMITED TO THE SIDELINES. THE TEAMS MUST CHANGE POINT-GETTERS EVERY ROUND AND EACH PLAYER CAN ONLY BE POINT-GETTER ONCE."**_

Foxy set down on a bench and his team circled around him as he filled out the roster.

"Luckily there's seven of us," Ricky remarked. Nami and Robin had been given their bench while Coach Sanji was sitting on the ground with the roster.

"Hm," Sanji mused, "Since we've got five rounds it would make sense to put our strongest scorers in rounds one, three and five. The question is, who do we want to start out with?"

"Oh, put me in the first one!" Luffy requested, "Please! Please!"

"I'll think about it if you shut up and leave me alone for a second," Sanji snapped. "But since he's so full of energy I'll put Luffy as Point-Getter in Round 1."

"Why don't we just have Luffy, Robin and Ricky as our first three Point-Getters," Nami suggested. "Then Usopp and I won't even have to compete."

"Because they're cheaters," Ricky said, "If they pull something and one of us loses in the early rounds that'll put all the pressure on you and Usopp to win it for us. I'd offer to go up against that cheetah-guy but we have no idea which member of their team is competing in each round until they announce it."

"They'll probably put one of their strongest racers in Round 5," Sanji reasoned. "So since you've played this game before that's where I'll put you. That'll give you time to recover from your hamburger injuries. But that leaves Miss. Nami, Miss. Robin and that other guy."

"HEY!" Usopp complained.

"Miss. Robin, looks like it's best to put you in Round Three," Sanji announced. "That okay?"

"Sure," Robin replied. "Whatever you think is best, Mr. Coach."

"But wait… what if the other team has the same idea?" Sanji suddenly realized. "And what if they cheat again and we lose an early round…"

"COME ON! HURRY UP!" Luffy urged him.

"ALRIGHT! I'M DONE!" Sanji shouted at him. "Luffy has Round 1, Miss. Nami has Round 2, Usopp has Round 3, Miss. Robin's been moved to Round 4 and Ricky's Round 5."

"Hey, hold on a sec," Zoro protested, "Why do you get to make all these big decisions without asking me?"

"Because the Coach makes all the decisions, not the Manager," Sanji said. "I'm the Coach."

"And why do you get to have the awesome job while I'm stuck following your stupid orders?" Zoro demanded.

"Obviously it's because I'm a genius and your brain is so rotten that you're growing mold on your head," Sanji retorted.

"If you think you're a genius then your ego is as twisted as your eyebrows!" Zoro argued.

"ARG! WHY YOU!" Sanji growled as he launched himself at Zoro and they started fighting.

"_**BY THE WAY, THERE'S ONE MORE VERY IMPORTANT RULE WE NEED TO GO OVER…"**_

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Nami shouted at the fighting Zoro and Sanji. "I CAN'T HEAR HIM!"

"_**IF ANY OF THE RACERS GO IN REVERSE OR LEAVE THE COURSE FOR WHATEVER REASON THEY WILL BE IMMEDIATELY DISQUALIFIED FROM THAT ROUND OF THE RACE. STARTING BEFORE THE WHISTLE WILL GET YOU DISQUALIFIED AS WELL."**_

Chirp Chirp flew over and collected the rosters from Foxy and Sanji then brought them back to Itomimizu.

"_**OKAY, IT LOOKS LIKE EVERYTHING IF FINALLY SET. IN THE FIRST ROUND, OOH! COMING ON STRONG FROM THE START, IT'S STRAW HAT LUFFY VERSUS OUR VERY OWN PORCHE."**_

"Okay Luffy," Ricky said as he knelt down next to Luffy while he tied his roller skates on. "You're allowed to use your Devil Fruit Powers in this game. Ace used to shoot fire out of his heels to give himself a turbo boost. I figure you can stretch and swing yourself around the track. Just make sure you don't go off the side, got it?"

"Yeah, no problem," Luffy replied. "I've got this."

Nearby, Porche stood next to Foxy and listened to the Captain's advice.

"_**THE ANTICIPATION IS KILLING ME, SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO LET'S GET THIS THING STARTED!"**_

"…" Chopper sat silently in the crowd and watched the teams prepare for the first round.

"Man, talk about exciting!" a Foxy Pirate sitting behind Chopper exclaimed.

"Yeah, this is my favorite event!" another chimed in.

"Mine too!"

"GO PORCHE! BEAT THAT RUBBER GUY SENSELESS!"

"Huh… HAHAHA! HEY! LOOK!"

"Gaaahh…" Usopp gasped.

"AH! You're… kidding me…" Nami sputtered.

"No way…" Usopp squeaked.

"Uugghh…" Sanji groaned while Zoro stood shocked behind him.

Foxy and Porche both grinned while Hamburg stood behind them and laughed, "Pupupupupu!"

"Luffy…" Ricky growled. "When you volunteered to go first… I assumed that meant you knew how to skate…"

"Wah-whoa-whoa!" Luffy yelped as his feet rolled out of control and he struggled to stay balanced on his rollers skates. "I thought I did too! It sounded easy!" **FWUMP! **Luffy pitched forward and landed on his head.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" the Foxy Pirates laughed hysterically from the stands.

"_**WELL THIS IS UNEXPECTED… STRAW HAT DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO SKATE! THIS GAME COULD BE OVER BEFORE IT EVEN STARTS!"**_

"FEHFEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy's shrill laugh carried over the rest of his laughing team.

"Come on Luffy…" Ricky grunted as he pulled Luffy back up to his feet. Luffy hung off of Ricky's arm while his feet continued to flail and roll out of his control. "Spread your legs wider and try to stay balanced."

"This isn't as easy as it looked," Luffy admitted, "When did you learn to skate?"

"Ollie taught me, she's an amazing skater," Ricky answered. "I'm gonna let you go now… try to stand on your own…"

**FWUMP! **Luffy immediately lost his balance and face-planted again.

"Good grief…" Ricky groaned.

"Now what're we gonna do?" Zoro wondered.

"Wait a second…" Usopp whimpered, "If we can't count on Luffy that means everyone's gonna expect _me _to win the third round…"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the Foxy Pirates continued to laugh as Luffy proved to be an utter failure at skating.

**-x-**

**Round, Round, Round:**

**-x-**

"_**BOTH TEAMS HAVE MADE IT TO THE STARTING LINE. BUT I'M STARTING TO WONDER IF THIS IS GOING TO BE MUCH OF A RACE."**_

Usopp had come over to join Ricky and now the two of them were holding up Luffy.

"Why'd you ask to be in the first round when you don't even know how to skate?" Usopp asked.

"That's what I asked," Ricky stated.

"Then why'd you let him!?" Usopp demanded.

"I figured he'd learned on his own!" Ricky insisted.

"It's not my fault," Luffy protested, "Skating's the hardest thing in the world. WAH!" Luffy's feet slipped out from under him and he crashed to the ground. **THUD! **This time he brought Usopp down with him.

"We're doomed…" Nami whimpered. "It's all over now…"

"Don't give up yet," Robin encouraged her. "It's our job to pick up the slack."

An unwelcome face made his way onto the track. The crooked referee from the Groggy Ring stood at the starting line with his whistle.

"Come on guys, let's go," the crooked referee called out, "Point-Getters to the track."

"WHAT? NOT YOU AGAIN!" Sanji yelled. "IF YOU PULL ANY MORE STUNTS, YOU'RE GETTING A BOOT TO THE FACE!"

The referee turned away and whistled.

"Fehfehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed. "We don't need stunts this time! We can beat you with both hands tied behind our backs!"

"Pupupupupu!" Hamburg chuckled behind him.

"_**IT'S TIME TO START THE THIRD GAME: THE ROUND, ROUND, ROUND. WILL PORCHE BREEZE THROUGH TO VICTORY? OR WILL THE ROOKIE SKATER STRAW HAT MAKE A MIRACULOUS IMPROVEMENT?"**_

"On your marks," the referee called out, "Get set…" **TWEEEEEE!**

Porche took off with a shot and rushed away from the starting line on her inline skates.

"_**AND SHE'S OFF! PORCHE TEARS DOWN THE TRACK WITH SPECTACULAR SPEED. NOW LET'S CHECK IN ON OUR CHALLENGER LUFFY…"**_

**FWUMP! **Luffy face-planted again and buried his face in the starting line.

"_**OH! FLAT ON HIS FACE! HE DIDN'T EVEN MAKE IT ACROSS THE STARTING LINE!"**_

"Certainly is hard headed, isn't he?" Robin remarked while Nami growled beside her.

"GRRAH!" Luffy shouted as he pushed himself up and grabbed his skates. "STUPID SHOES!"

"_**WHOA NOW, REMOVING YOUR SKATES IN THE ROLLER RACE WILL RESULT IN AN INSTANT DISQUALIFICATION!"**_

"CRAP!" Luffy shouted. He looked on ahead and saw that Porche had already made it around the curved side of the track. Bu his eyes stopped when spotted the railing that ran alongside the slanted curved portion of the track. "If I make it over there I can grab the railing."

Before he could take a single step, Luffy's feet rolled out from under him and he fell on his back. **FWUMP! **

"Well, not much of a race," Porche taunted. She was now half way around the track.

"RICKY!" Nami snapped. "What's the new plan?"

"Five seconds 'til we enter," Ricky answered as he made his way to the starting line and got into a ready crouch beside Luffy. "I'll catch puff girl. You guys get Luffy moving."

**TWEEEEEE! **The referee blew his whistle.

"_**TWENTY SECONDS HAVE PASSED. IT'S TIME TO LET THE DEFENDERS LOOSE." **_

**SSSHOOOM! **Ricky launched off of the starting line and raced down the track.

A large shadow fell over Luffy. He looked up to see Mashikaku rolling up behind him with a pair of skates that looked like tank treads.

"Ma…shi…ka…ku…" the large rectangular man drawled as he pitched forward.

"HEY! HE'S ABOUT TO GET PINNED!" Sanji shouted from the sideline. "SOMEBODY HELP HIM!"

"NOT MEEE!" Usopp whined.

**SPLAT! **Mashikaku crashed down on top of Luffy. **BOING! **But was bounced right back up.

"Huh… that's weird…" Mashikaku grunted.

Everyone looked down to see that Luffy had inflated himself into a large round ball.

"The… Gum Gum Balloon?" Usopp questioned.

Nami looked across the field and saw that Ricky had already rounded the first turn and was gaining on Porche on the straightaway.

"No!" Porche wailed as she skated frantically away from Ricky. "Get away! Get away!" Porche spun around and waved her gold baton. "Flower Shuriken!" **WOOSH! **A dozen bladed roses were launched out at Ricky.

**SWISH! **Ricky ducked down underneath the bladed flowers and didn't even slow down as he continued to close in behind Porche.

Nami looked back at the round Luffy. Round. "THAT'S IT!" Nami exclaimed. "COME ON USOPP!" Nami skated forward and kicked Luffy in the side. **THWAK! **Luffy was sent flying off the starting line as Nami skated after him.

"HEY!" Usopp protested Nami abused of the Captain as he skated after her.

"THIS IS IT LUFFY!" Nami called out, "You have to keep holding your breath in! We're going to roll you all the way around the track!"

"Whatever works," Usopp muttered.

Robin smiled and crossed her arms, "Cein Fleur… Delphinium!" Two rows of fifty arms grew out of the track in front of Luffy.

"Huh?" Nami questioned as Luffy was pulled away from her by the arms and rolled onward down the track. "WOW! THANKS ROBIN!"

"She's rolling him with her arms!" a Foxy Pirate realized.

"Awesome!" another one remarked.

"_**WHAT INCREDIBLE SPEED! YOU CAN HARDLY CALL IT SKATING BUT HE'S STARTING TO GAIN ON PORCHE!"**_

**WHAP! **"Gotcha!" Ricky grabbed Porche from behind and lifted her up off of the track just as they reached the second turn. Ricky turned his skates inward and slowed to a complete stop.

"No! Let me go!" Porche complained as she kicked her legs and struggled. "Help!"

"Alright guys," Ricky called back to the others, "Just pass us and we'll win the round!"

"MMMMM!" a dizzy Luffy mumbled as he struggled to hold his breath while Robin rolled him along the track.

"_**THIS IS CERTAINLY THE MOST BIZARRE COMEBACK I'VE EVER SEEN!" **_

**SKISH! **Ricky jumped to the side to avoid Robin's hands and Luffy as he rolled passed them.

"_**THE STRAW HAT DANGERS ARE NOW IN THE LEAD!"**_

Robin's arms continued to roll Luffy around the curve and back towards the starting line.

"_**UH OH! THE FOXY DEVILS HAVE LINED UP SOME POWERFUL DEFENSE."**_

Mashikaku and Jube stood poised on the starting line. Mashikaku's large rectangular body would prevent Luffy from being rolled passed him and Jube's eight arms were outstretched to catch Luffy is he was rolled towards him.

"I am a wall…" Mashikaku called out as he stood still and blocked the starting line.

"GO ROBIN!" Nami cheered as she skidded to a stop next to Ricky and Porche while Usopp continued passed them. Nami glared in distaste at the Foxy Pirate that Ricky had in his arms. "You can put her down now."

"Yeah! Put me down!" Porche complained as she struggled helplessly.

"Not until the round is over," Ricky insisted.

Robin closed her eyes as she grew two more arms out of the track in front of Mashikaku. **WHISH! **Luffy was rolled onto the new arms and they launched Luffy up into the air over Mashikaku's head.

"_**OH! A FANCY FLYING MANEUVER SENDS HIM FLYING OVER MASHIKAKU!"**_

"ALRIGHT ROBIN!" Sanji cheered. "NICE!"

"You're seriously going to stand there holding her for four more minutes?" Nami snapped.

"I guess I could always dump her off the track," Ricky reasoned. "That would get her disqualified and we'd win the round by default."

"No! Anything but that!" Porche protested.

"Hurry up and dump the skank before you catch something!" Nami ordered.

Porche glared at Nami, "You're just jealous because you wish he was holding you!"

"Not so fast." **SKISH! **Girarin suddenly jumped up from behind Mashikaku. He pulled his arms out from behind his back and revealed that he had shiny, metal blades strapped to them. "KILLER SWORD FESTIVAL!" **WHAM! **Girarin slammed his right blade into Luffy and knocked him to the side, off the track, towards the stands.

"YOU BITCH!" Nami howled as she launched herself at Porche. **WHAM! **Nami slammed into Ricky and all three of them went flying off the track.

**KRASH! **Luffy came crashing down in the stands and flattened a number of Foxy Pirates.

**THUD! **Ricky, Nami and Porche all landed in a heap on the field.

"_**WHAT A TURN OF EVENTS! BOTH STRAW HAT LUFFY AND PORCHE HAVE BEEN KNOCKED OUT OF BOUNDS! WE'LL NEED TO GET A RULING!"**_

"WHY WOULD WE NEED A RULING?" Usopp shouted from where he'd stopped near the starting line. "THAT GUY USED A SWORD! THAT CAN'T BE LEGAL!"

"These things? Don't worry," Girarin said as he ran his fingers along one of his arms blades. "They're dull. They're nothing but show."

The referee looked over and saw Porche, Nami and Ricky still attempting to extract themselves from the pile that they'd landed in.

The referee looked up at the stands where Luffy's big, round body had squashed over a dozen Foxy Pirates.

"Straw Hat Luffy landed first," the referee announced. "He's disqualified." **TWEEEEEE!**

"_**THAT MEANS THE FABULOUS PORCHE WINS ROUND ONE! THAT'S ONE POINT FOR THE FOXY DEVILS!"**_

"YEAH!" Porche exclaimed as she jumped up and raised her arms over her head. The Foxy Pirates that hadn't been flattened by Luffy all cheered. "THANKS EVERYBODY!" Porche turned and pulled down her eyelid as she stuck her tongue out at Nami. "NYYAA!"

"RAAH!" Nami lunged at Porche but Ricky held her back. "LET ME AT HER! I'LL BREAK HER BIG NOSE!"

"I… I don't feel so good…" Luffy mumbled.

"You can stop holding your breath now," Usopp told him.

**FOOOOSSSHH! **Luffy opened his mouth wide and was launched into the air as the air flew out of him. Luffy deflated and crashed back down onto the field.

"_Now we can't just rely on Luffy, Ricky and Robin," _Usopp realized. _"Nami will have to win her round… or else… I'LL HAVE TO WIN _MINE_!"_

Ricky and Nami trudged back across the field. Ricky stopped next to Zoro.

"Team Manager, I've got an important job for you," Ricky said. "Teach Luffy how to skate."

"Grrr…" Zoro growled as he stalked over to Luffy, "I should've been the Coach…"

"_**LET'S MOVE RIGHT ALONG! IN ROUND TWO THE STRAW HATS' POINT-GETTER IS NAMI, THE NEFARIOUS NAVIGATOR. SHE'LL BE UP AGAINST THE KING OF DEFENSE, MASHIKAKU. EVERYONE'S FAVORITE HUMAN WALL."  
**_

The Foxy Pirates were deadly silent for Nami but cheered loudly for Mashikaku. Nami got into a ready stance on the starting line.

"_Don't worry about losing," _the navigator prompted herself,_ "Just focus on the match."_ She glanced to the side and eyed her huge opponent.

"ROUND TWO!" the referee called out, "On your marks… get set…" **TWEEEEEEE!**

Nami took off and raced away from the starting line.

"_**AND THEY'RE OFF! OR AT LEAST NAMI IS. MASHIKIKU ON THE OTHER HAND… well… TO PUT IT NICELY, LET'S SAY HE'S TAKING HIS TIME."**_

Mashikaku rolled at a snail's pace and slowly crossed the starting line.

"_**IT LOOKS LIKE THE HEARTLESS WITCH MIGHT BE ABLE TO WIN WITHOUT ANY CONNIVING THIS TIME."**_

"Conniving?" Ricky repeated. He pointed at the referee. "You mean when she stole the whistle from this idiot and had to trick him into doing his job properly?"

"Am I missing something?" Usopp wondered. "Why is he so slow?"

Nami breezed through the first curve of the track and reached the other side. _"It's too quiet. What's going on? Is this some kind of trick?"_

"FORGET ABOUT HIM, NAMI!" Usopp shouted to her. "JUST KEEP MOVING!"

"Right!" Nami agreed as she started along the far side of the track.

**TWEEEEEEE! **The referee blew his whistle.

"_**AND THERE'S THE SECOND WHISTLE."**_

"Let's see what we can do," Usopp resolved.

"Slight problem with that," Ricky stated. He, Usopp and Robin all turned to see Chiqicheetah, Jube and Girarin all standing still on the starting line. Mashikaku was still barely passed it and his three teammates were making no move to help him.

"Wait… why aren't they moving?" Usopp wondered.

"Hehahahaha," Jube laughed. "If you think you can get passed us by my guest."

"You wanna step up to these babies?" Girarin threatened as he brandished his arm blade.

"It's a little late to be making a road block," Sanji noted.

"If you guys don't move, then I'll move you!" Luffy growled as he pushed himself back up onto his feet. **FWUMP! **And promptly fell on his face again.

"You're up to something and I don't think I want to wait and find out what it is," Ricky stated. **SKISH! **He shot forward and lashed out his foot. "Jumping… LANCE KICK!" **THWAK! **Ricky's leg slammed into Jube's chest. The squid fishman was caught off guard and went flying off the track. **THUD!**

"_**JUBE HAS FALLEN OFF THE TRACK! HE'S ELIMINATED FROM THIS ROUND!"**_

"WHY YOU!" Girarin snapped as he charged Ricky and swung his arm blade.

**SWISH! **Ricky ducked under the attack and swung his leg around at Girarin's legs. "Quarterstaff… SWEEP!" **THWAK! **Ricky knocked Girarin's legs out from under him. **Swish! **Ricky spun and caught the fishman as he fell backwards then threw him off the track after Jube. **THUD!**

"_**GIRARIN HAS BEEN THROWN OFF THE TRACK! HE'S ELIMINATED TOO!"**_

"Did they really call those guys Fighting Fishmen?" Ricky wondered. "The one doesn't even look like a squid fishman." Ricky turned and faced Chiqicheetah. "You want some, kitty?"

Chiqicheetah stared at Ricky… then looked passed him at the two fallen fishmen… then remembered that he was racing in the next round. Chiqicheetah stepped backwards off the track.

"_**AND CHIQICHEETAH HAS ELIMINATED HIMSELF FROM THE ROUND!"**_

"Geez, calm down Ricky," Usopp said, "We've already got this one in the bag."

"We can't afford to put anything passed these guys," Ricky said. He turned to see Nami come racing around the final bend towards the starting line. "The way's all clear Nami."

Nami reached the starting line and slowed to a stop when she realized that her slow-moving opponent was still basically in the same place after she'd done an entire lap.

"That was… easy…" Nami remarked.

"Heehee! Guess again!" Porche suddenly popped up on Mashikaku's shoulder.

"Damn it, I knew I missed one," Ricky realized.

Porche swung her baton and a bouquet of roses bloomed out of end. "Flower Hypnosis!" **Shunk! **The roses sank into the baton and a purple beam shot out and covered all seven of the Straw Hats before they could even react.

**-x-**

"Mmm…" Nami let out a faint mewl as she snuggled against her pillow.

Wait… pillow?

Nami's eyes fluttered opened as she recognized the red haired pirate that she was currently cuddled up against. Nami smiled.

Wait… pillow? Ricky? She was still mad at him.

"GET OFF!" Nami yelped as she shoved Ricky away from her.

"Huh?" Ricky grunted, "_You're _on top of _me_!"

"WE DIDN'T JUST FALL ASLEEP ON THE TRACK, DID WE?" Usopp shrieked.

"I'm not sure," Robin replied.

Usopp? Robin? Track? THE RACE!

Nami, Ricky, Usopp and Robin all sat up. On the sidelines Sanji sat up too but Luffy and Zoro were still sound asleep.

Nami looked ahead of her. It wasn't hard to spot Mashikaku still only a foot in front of the starting line. Jube, Girarin, Chiqicheetah were all standing on the sidelines. "Wha… he's in the same place as before. Right?"

"Yeah," Robin confirmed.

"**NAMI! HURRY!" **a high pitched voice shouted from the stands.

The Straw Hats looked up to see Chopper standing on his seat and waving his arms frantically.

"YOU'RE ABOUT TO LOSE THE RACE!" Chopper shouted. "YOU'VE GOTTA GET MOVING NOW!"

"_**FIVE… FOUR…"**_

Ricky turned and grabbed Nami. "Hey! Get off!" she protested.

_**THREE…"**_

Ricky spun and threw Nami across the starting line after Mashikaku.

"_**TWO…"**_

"Oh no you don't!" **SKISH! **Porche jumped off of Mashikaku and crashed down on Nami. **WHAM! **Nami was driven face-first down into one of Mashikaku's tank tracks.

"_**ONE…"**_

Nami elbowed Porche and rolled out from under her. She looked at the track she had been lying on. She looked backwards and saw that the track went passed her crew… and back around the second turn… and around the other side of the track… and around the first bend.

MASHIKAKU HAD DONE AN ENTIRE LAP WHILE THEY'D BEEN ASLEEP!

**TWEEEEEEE! **The referee blew his whistle as time ran out.

The Foxy Pirates cheered while Chopper hung his head and whimpered.

"_**THE FOXY DEVILS WIN TWO ROUNDS IN A ROW! THAT'S ANOTHER POINT! ONE MORE AND ITS ALL OVER FOR THE STRAW HAT DANGERS!"**_

"You snooze you lose!" Porche taunted Nami as she stood back up. "It sucks to be you, huh?"

"Fehfehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed. "I can't believe we beat 'em with Mashikaku!"

"Pupupupupupu!" Hamburg laughed along with him.

"Damn, I've seen Ollie do some incredible things done with flowers," Ricky grumbled. "I probably should've seen that coming."

Nami scowled as she got back up. "Then now what do we do guy-whose-played-this-before?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," Ricky admitted. "I've never had a Roller Race go more than three rounds before. Ace, Ollie and I specialized in our 1, 11, 12 Finish. I brought back my old number in the hopes that it would be lucky. I guess that luck doesn't transfer for a different crew."

Nami's scowl turned into a glare. "Yeah, well the incredibly perfect Ollie and your fire-powered brother aren't here!" she snapped. "You're stuck with me and your brother that can't even skate! What do we do now, _JACK-_ASS?"

Ricky flinched, "Obviously, Usopp, Robin and I all have to win our rounds. Usopp?"

They turned to see that the sniper had gone stiff and pale.

"_**UNLESS THE STRAW HATS CAN PULL IT TOGETHER FAST, THINGS COULD BE OVER FOR THEM IN A FLASH. WITH A TWO-POINT DEFICIT EVERYTHING IS RIDING ON THE NEXT ROUND. WILL USOPP'S AERODYNAMIC NOSE GIVE HIM THE EDGE HE NEEDS TO BEAT CHIQICHEETAH?"**_

"But…" Usopp whimpered. "But I'm… I'm allergic to…

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY YOU'RE ALLERGIC TO ROLLER SKATES!" Nami and Sanji both berated him.

Usopp reluctantly took his place at the starting line. _"This is just what I was worried about. Now everything's riding on me." _Usopp looked beside him at the half-man/half-cheetah as he licked the back of his hand. _"How can I beat a guy with 'cheetah in his name? Heck! He might even be a cheetah now that I look at him!"_

**FWUMP! **"OW!" Usopp turned to see Zoro attempted to teach Luffy how to skate.

"That's all wrong," Zoro told him. "Try to lower your stance a little. You've gotta move your hips when you move."

"I never figured you for a skater," Luffy remarked. "Wow."

"I'm not," Zoro replied. "I'm just watching other people."

"_I can't rely on Luffy for this one," _Usopp thought to himself. He looked over at the First Mate.

Ricky gave Usopp a thumbs up. "You can do it, Usopp."

"_That's easy for him to say," _Usopp grumbled to himself. _"He's not the one that has to RACE A FREAKING CHEETAH! What I need is a strategy…" _Usopp closed his eyes and took a deep breath so he could think. But all he could hear was Zoro and Luffy's skating lesson.

"Now spread them out a little…"

"Huh? Like this?" **FWUMP! **"Ow…"

"Not even close."

"Like this?" **FWUMP! **"Ow!"

"No!"

"Like this?" **FWUMP! **"OW!"

"NO! LISTEN TO ME DAMN IT!"

"ON YOUR MARKS!" the referee called out.

"EEEP!" Usopp squeaked in terror. _"I'VE GOT NOTHING!"_

"GET SET…"

"_Well… whatever," _Usopp resolved as he reached up and pulled his goggles down. _"I can go faster than a cheetah if I try hard enough, right?"_

**TWEEEEEE!**

The whistle blew and Usopp took off. He pumped his arms frantically and pushed his body to skate as fast as he possible could.

Usopp opened his eyes and saw the empty turn up ahead of him.

"AHAHA!" Usopp laughed. "I'm in the lead! It worked!"

**SHOOM! **Usopp turned his head to see that Chiqicheetah had already passed the turn and was racing down the far side of the track. "GAAAAH!"

"So fast!" Nami exclaimed.

"Your little friend might as well give up now and save himself the effort," Porche taunted.

"Chiqicheetah doesn't even need our help, you know," Jube boasted.

"THIS IS HOPELESS!" Usopp complained as he finally round the first curve. "WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?"

**SHOOOOM! **Chiqicheetah blurred passed Ricky, Nami and Robin at the starting line.

"No way!" Nami gasped. "He already finished a whole lap?"

"Not even twenty seconds," Ricky noted. "There goes Ace's speed record."

"Maybe you guys should just sit back and relax too," Porche suggested.

"IT'S NOT OVER UNTIL IT'S OVER, BIMBO!" Nami snarled at her.

"_**THAT'S TWENTY SECONDS. IT'S TIME FOR THE DEFENSE TO GO." **_**TWEEEEEE!**

"Come on!" Nami called out as she took off.

"Right," Robin agreed as she skated after her.

"Hm," was all Ricky said as he casually rolled after them.

"_Oh no! Here he comes!" _Usopp whimpered to himself as he looked over his shoulder and saw Chiqicheetah rushing up behind him. _"I've gotta do something or he's gonna lap me." _Usopp spun and lashed out at Chiqicheetah. "HOW DO YOU LIKE THIS?" **SWISH! **Chiqicheetah ducked under Usopp's swing and sped right passed him like the sniper was standing still.

Usopp was left off balance and had to struggle to stay on his feet. He frantically kicked his legs then dropped down into a low stance and spread his arms out wide.

Suddenly the crowd of Foxy Pirates let out a loud gasp, "WHOOOAAA!"

"No way!" Porche scoffed.

"Ah!" Foxy snorted in surprise.

"Uuhhh…" Chopper whimpered as snot leaked out of his blue nose.

"Hungh!" Sanji grunted and almost bit his cigarette in half.

"Oh look," Ricky said with a faint grin.

"There you go… now keep it up, just like I said," Zoro instructed.

Straw Hat Luffy was finally standing up on his skates.

"Look! He's almost there!" a Foxy Pirate pointed out.

"COME ON, KID!" another Foxy Pirate couldn't help but cheer. "YOU CAN DO IT!" They'd all seen Luffy face plant countless times. But the rubber pirate had kept at it. And now he was almost on his feet.

"THAT'S IT!" Chopper shouted as he jumped up in his seat. "GO! GO! GO!"

Luffy stood up on his skates… and stayed there.

"YEAH! GO STRAW HAT!" the Foxy Pirates cheered at Luffy's determination.

Nami looked back and smiled. "Is he?"

"About time," Ricky remarked.

"YEAH!" Luffy yelled. "USOPP! YOU'RE GONNA WIN THIS! HANG ON CHOPPER! WE'RE GONNA WIN YOU BACK!"

**-x-**

**Heated Race:**

**-x-**

After falling on his face countless times, Straw Hat Luffy was finally standing in his skates.

"Hey! You can do it kid!" the Foxy Pirates were once again won over by the Straw Hats' determination and heart. "Just a little further!"

Luffy's legs wobbled shakily on the skates but he remained standing.

"What a moment!" one of the Foxy Pirates cried. "Inspiring!"

"Alright… I'm up," Luffy resolved. "Usopp… I'm coming."

"Yeah, Luffy!" Usopp cried tears of joy.

"Like this, right?" Luffy said as he spread his legs and dropped into a crouch then launched himself forward. **SHOOOOM! **"WAAAH! IT'S SO FAST! AWESOME!"

Luffy rocketed forward while Chiqicheetah sped passed the starting line fresh off of lapping Usopp. Luffy looked back and saw the cheetah approaching from behind.

"RAH! I WON'T LET YOU WIN!" Luffy shouted as he put on another burst of speed.

"GRAH!" Chiqicheetah growled as he dropped forward onto his front legs. His humanoid body was gone and was now replaced by the body of a full-on cheetah. Chiqicheetah pumped all four of his legs and dashed after Luffy.

"_**INCREDIBLE! MOMENTS AGO, STRAW HAT LUFFY COULDN'T EVEN STAND IN HIS SKATES MUCH LESS SKATE IN THEM. NOW HE'S KEEPING AHEAD OF CHIQICHEETAH WHO IS POWERED UP IN HIS DOUBLE SPEED FULL DASH!**_

Luffy worked frantically and managed to maintain a tiny lead on the cheetah but his eyes widened in surprise when he spotted the first turn. "WAH! WAH! WAH!"

"Oh crap!" Zoro cursed, "I taught him how to stand and skate but not how to turn!"

**KRASH! **Luffy plowed straight through the wall that went alongside the slanted curve.

**Whap! **Luffy managed to grab onto the edges of the hole he had made as his rubber body went flying through it. **WOING!**

But then Chiqicheetah reached the turn. He shifted back into his hybrid from then jumped up and drove his feet into the wall. **WHAM! **The wall smashed and Luffy lost his hold.

"WAAAAAAAHH!" Luffy screamed as he went flying off the track and once again crashed face-first into the ground.

"_**STRAW HAT LUFFY HAS ONCE AGAIN LEFT THE COURSE. HE IS NOW DISQUALIFIED FROM ROUND THREE."**_

"Mmmmpphh…" Luffy mumbled as he struggled to pull his head out from the ground.

"I guess it was too good to be true," Robin remarked as she, Nami and Ricky made their way along the far side of the track. They were closing in on Usopp who had reached the second turn.

Nami looked back and glared at Ricky, "DO SOMETHING!"

Ricky did something. He stopped completely. "There's a trick to catching something that's going really fast in a circle."

**WHAP! **Ricky lunged to the side and grabbed onto Chiqicheetah as he tried to pass him.

"_**I DON'T BELIEVE IT! RICKY OF THE STRAW HAT DANGERS ACTUALLY CAUGHT THE SPEED DEMON CHIQICHEETAH! HOW'D HE DO THAT?"**_

"Simple, you just stand in its path and wait for it to come to you," Ricky explained and he lifted the cheetah-man up off of his track. "You're not going anywhere!"

"GRAH! RAH!" Chiqicheetah snarled and thrashed in Ricky's hold.

"Go on!" Ricky called out to the others. "I'll slow him down. You two help Usopp."

"Right!" Nami agreed as she and Robin sped off after Usopp. But for all the time that he spent running away, Usopp proved to be a slow skater and they closed in on him at the second turn.

Robin crossed her arms over her chest, "Viente Fleur… Vine!" A long chain of arms grew out from the inside of the second turn. "Mr. Long Nose, grab this!" **Whap! **Usopp grabbed onto the last hand in the chain. **WHING! **Robin's long chain of twenty arms swung Usopp clear around the turn and then launched him down the straight-away towards the starting line. **SHOOOM!**

"_**WHOA! HISTORIAN NICO ROBIN USES A LONG WHIP TO KEEP HER TEAM IN THE RACE."**_

"WAAAH! TOO FAST!" Usopp cried as he whizzed passed Porche and Jube at the starting line.

"Jube! Stop him!" Porche ordered.

"Your turn, Ms. Navigator," Robin announced as she and Nami rounded the turn. Robin used her long legs to push herself ahead of Nami then stretched a chain of ten arms back at Nami. **Whap! **Nami reached forward and grabbed the last hand in the chain. **WHING! **Robin swung the chain of arms forward and sent Nami flying down the straightway towards the starting line.

"COMING THROUGH!" Nami jumped up and slammed skates-first into Porche. **THWHAM! **The Foxy Idol was knocked backwards into Jube and they both crashed down onto the track. Nami jumped over them and kept on skating.

"On your left," Robin announced as she skated passed the two Foxy Pirates.

"_**WOW! WHAT A DISPLAY OF TEAMWORK BY THE STRAW HAT DANGERS!"**_

"DAMN THOSE TWO!" Porche whined as they pulled themselves back up.

"Hehaha, looks like Chiqicheetah might need our help after all," Jube realized.

Meanwhile, Ricky was attempting to drag Chiqicheetah off the track. But the cheetah-man once again become a full cheetah and lunged forward and sank his claws into the track. **Shunk! **Now Ricky was literally dragging Chiqicheetah towards the line as the big cat's sharp claws tore up the track in their wake.

"Dat guy is really startin' to bug me," Foxy complained as he watched Ricky hold back another one of his racers.

"Again, Long Nose!" Robin called out as she created another chain of arms inside of the turn. **Whap! **The last hand grabbed onto Usopp's and the chain swung the sniper around the curve. **WHING! **Usopp was launched down the straightaway towards Ricky and Chiqicheetah.

**WOOOSH! **Usopp used the boost of speed from Robin to skate passed his stationary opponent.

"_**OH MY! USOPP HAS PASSED CHIQICHEETAH! HE'S STILL A FULL LAP BEHIND HIM BUT THAT'S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE!"**_

"GRROOAAAHHHRR!" Chiqicheetah howled at being passed by someone so slow. **SKISH! **The full cheetah used the hold his claws had on the track to launch himself forward. **Whish! **The cheetah slipped out of Ricky's arms and dumped him on his face. **THUD!**

"SLOW SLOW BEAM!" **FWOOOSH! **Before he had a chance to get up, Ricky was hit by Foxy's Slow Slow Beam and was left paralyzed face-down on the track.

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed. "THAT'LL SLOW 'IM DOWN!"

**SHOOOM! **Now free from Ricky's hold, Chiqicheetah barreled after Usopp in his Double Speed Full Dash. **WOOOSH! **Chiqicheetah whizzed past Usopp and regained his one-lap lead.

"Ricky!" Nami called out as she sped around the turn and raced over to the fallen pirate.

**WOOOOSSHH! **Chiqicheetah blazed passed the starting line and reached the first turn an instant later. He had clearly taken getting passed by Usopp very personally.

At this point, Chiqicheetah was going too fast to actually turn. **SHOOOM! **The cheetah raced straight off the slanted wall. **WHAP! **But his tail reached out at the last second and grabbed the top of the wall. **WHING! **Chiqicheetah swung himself around the bend.

"…" Luffy watched silently through the hole he'd made as Chiqicheetah swung through the turn.

**SHOOOM! **Chiqicheetah came back down at full speed and sped right passed Robin.

"_**THERE IT IS! CHIQICHEETAH AND HIS TRIPLE SPEED ROCKET DASH! NO ONE CAN CATCH HIM NOW!"**_

**SKISH! **Chiqicheetah shifted into his hybrid form and jumped clear over Nami. **WHUMP! **And landed skates-first on the still prone Ricky. **WOOOSH! **Chiqicheetah launched himself off of Ricky in his full cheetah form again and bolted down the straight side of the track.

"OH NO! NOT AGAIN!" Usopp yelped as he the cheetah closed in behind him.

**SHOOOOM! **Chiqicheetah rushed by Usopp so fast that he left the snipeR spinning in his wake. Chiqicheetah was now two laps ahead of Usopp and wasn't slowing down.

Chiqicheetah reached the next curve and once again flung himself off the track and caught himself by the tail. Chiqicheetah swung over the outside of the track but stayed anchored once again thanks to his seemingly prehensile tail. **WHING!**

"HEY! AREN'T YOU PAYING ATTENTION?" Sanji yelled as he shook the referee who seemed to be caught up whistling again. "HE LEFT THE COURSE, DAMN IT!"

"The air is safe!" the referee insisted. "The air is safe!"

"_**COACH SANJI'S ANGRY COMPLAINT IS OVERRULED AND SHUT DOWN! MEANWHILE, CHIQICHEETAH HAS JUST COMPLETED HIS FIFTH LAP AND IS NEARLY THREE LAPS AHEAD OF USOPP."**_

"_I have to do something before it's too late," _Robin resolved as she watched Chiqicheetah once again swing over the first turn.

"**MUCHA KARAMETE!"** Eight long arms stretched out like tentacles and coiled around Robin's arms, chest and waist.

"_OH NO!" _Robin gasped to herself as she looked back at Jube the Squid Fishman.

"I'd try not to struggle, girl!" Jube warned her. "Got it? The more you wiggle around the more tangled you become."

Robin closed her eyes and two arms grew out of Jube's shoulders. They grabbed him by the chin and wrenched backwards. **SQUISH!**

"HEHAHAHAHA!" Jube laughed through a move that would have normally broken his neck. "Fool! I'm an invertebrate! That does nothing to me!"

**WHISH! **Jube used his eight arms to hoist the entangled Robin up into the air.

**FWOOOSH! **A familiar purple beam enveloped Robin as froze her on the spot.

"Fehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed. "Nice work Jube!"

"Hehahahaha!" Jube chuckled as he carried Robin off the track. "Aw, it was nothing."

"OH NO! THAT FREAK TOOK OUT ROBIN!" Sanji exclaimed.

"_**NICO ROBIN AND JUBE HAVE BOTH LEFT THE COURSE THEY'RE BOTH ELIMINATED FROM THE ROUND!"**_

"_WHAT DO I DO?" _Usopp shrieked to himself. "_Luffy, Ricky and Robin are all down. I can't win this by myself!"_

**WOOOOOSSH! **Chiqicheetah blazed passed Usopp at the starting line as he lapped the sniper yet again. This round was now getting ridiculously one-sided.

"_**WE'RE TWO MINUTES INTO THIS RACE AND CHIQICHEETAH HAS NOW PASSED USOPP AGAIN AT THE STARTING LINE FOR HIS SIXTH LAP. THIS GIVES HIM A FOUR LAP LEAD."**_

"Hurry up, hurry up!" Nami muttered as she knelt down to Ricky and shook him. "If we're going to win this round we need you!"

"Boss! It's almost been thirty seconds!" Porche called out from the starting line.

"Then let's give the red fox another taste!" Foxy decided as he turned and pointed his hands at Ricky and Nami. "SLOW SLOW BEAM!"

**FWUMP! **At the last second Nami shoved Ricky and rolled him out of the way. **FWOOOOSH! **The purple beam washed over Nami and she was left frozen on her knees.

**Whup-whup-whup! **Ricky tumbled along the track and was finally moving again.

**SHOOOOM! **Chiqicheetah raced passed Ricky on all fours.

"Thanks Nami," Ricky said as he pushed himself up to his feet, "Now I'll go at full speed…" Everything slowed down as Ricky kicked the ground ten times with his skates in under a second. "SPEED SKATE!" **ZZZZOOOOM! **Ricky took off like a shot and rocketed after Chiqicheetah.

"_**WHAT'S THIS? ONE EYE RICKY IS ACTUALLY GAINING ON CHIQICHEETAH!"**_

"GRAH?" Chiqicheetah looked back over his shoulder in confusion as he launched himself around the turn in his Triple Speed Rocket Dash. **WHING! **The cheetah-man swung himself around the bend and raced down the track.

**ZZZZZOOOM! **A second later Ricky went flying over the wall .**Whap! **Ricky grabbed onto the edge and just as Chiqicheetah had already done countless times with his tail, he swung himself around the bent. **WHING! **Ricky came down and shot down the straightaway after Chiqicheetah. **ZZZZZZOOOOOOM! **They were at the starting line when he caught up with him.

"_**ONE EYE RICKY AND CHIQICHEETAH ARE NECK-AND-NECK! NO ONE'S EVER KEPT UP WITH CHIQICHEETAH'S TRIPLE SPEED ROCKET DASH!"**_

"I'LL SLOW HIM DOWN!" Foxy called out. As he held his hands up in his signature pose and aimed them at Ricky. "SLOW SLOW BEAM!" **FWOOOOSH!**

This time Ricky heard and saw it coming. **Whap! **Ricky reached out and for the second time in the round, he caught Chiqicheetah. Ricky lifted Chiqicheetah up and used the cheetah's own momentum to swing him around. **WHING! **Ricky threw Chiqicheetah off the track into the path of Foxy's Slowmo Photon Beam. **FWOOOOSH! **Chiqicheetah was left hanging in midair.

"WHAT! NO!" Foxy yelled as he inadvertently froze his own racer.

"_**OH NO! CHIQICHEETAH'S FINALLY BEEN SLOWED DOWN… BY OUR BOSS!"**_

**SKISH! **Ricky launched himself off the track at the midair racer. "Jumping… AX KICK! **THWAK! **Ricky drove his heel down onto Chiqicheetah's back and he dropped to the ground still in the same pose that Foxy had frozen him in. **THUD! **

"Chiqicheetah! No!" Porche cried.

**FWUMP! **Ricky dropped to the ground next to Chiqicheetah and clutched his stomach.

"_**I DON'T BELIEVE IT! DESPITE HIS SIX LAP LEAD, CHIQICHEETAH HAS BEEN THROWN OFF THE TRACK! HE IS NOW DISQUALIFIED. IN A MIRACULOUS COME-FROM-BEHIND VICTORY, ROUND THREE GOES TO THE STRAW HAT DANGERS!"**_

"GAH! WHAT?" Foxy roared in outrage. He'd just lost his chance at a clean sweep.

"…" Usopp stood dubiously on the first curve of the track. He had only managed to complete two laps around the track but had still managed to pull out the victory. "Hurray…"

"YEAH!" Nami cheered once she unfroze.

"BOOOO! AW COME ON!" the Foxy Pirates weren't very happy about their loss.

"_**THE STRAW HAT DANGERS HAVE SCORED A POINT OF THEIR OWN. BUT THE FOXY DEVILS STILL HAVE THE LEAD. THERE'S NO TIME TO BASK IN THE AFTERGLOW OF VICTORY THOUGH. ROUND FOUR WILL BE STARTING SOON."**_

"KOFF! KOFF!" Ricky hacked up blood as he knelt on the field.

"What happened to you?" Zoro asked as he and Sanji stood over him.

"Pushed myself… too hard…" Ricky wheezed. "Hamburger… injuries…"

Usopp and Nami made their way over to the group.

"Hey Usopp," Ricky weakly called out, "You… beat a cheetah."

Usopp's eyes bugged out, "YEAH, I DID! WAIT 'TIL I TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THIS!"

Robin looked down at Ricky, "Will you be able to compete in the next round, Mr. One Eye?"

"**Let Ricky sit this one out."** They all turned to see that Luffy had made it back onto the field. "I'll defend Robin."

"Very well then," Robin resolved as she made her way to the starting line.

"_**THE POINT-GETTERS FOR THIS ROUND WILL BE HISTORIAN NICO ROBIN AGAINST THE SQUID FISHMAN JUBE. WE'RE IN FOR A GREAT RACE!"**_

"Listen," Zoro instructed as he stood near Luffy at the starting line. "How to turn is…"

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed and waved him off. "Don't worry. I've got it."

"What do you mean you've got it?" Zoro asked. "You didn't have it a second ago."

"Look, I did what you told me to do," Luffy replied, "I watched how everyone else was skating. I'm ready to go in Coach."

"I'm not the Coach," Zoro growled, "I'm the Manager. Fancy-brow got the good job. I got to deal with you."

While Robin and Luffy prepared for Round 4, Nami and Usopp discussed strategy.

"We know that he's going to use that stupid beam again," Nami pointed out.

"Yeah," Usopp agreed. "That Dumb Dumb Beam is gonna be a problem."

"He… he called my beam dumb…" Foxy whimpered as he moped on the ground.

"OH! BOSS!" Porche cried out as she ran to his side to cheer him up.

Lightbulb! "Usopp, I've got an idea!" Nami announced.

"Huh? What is it?" Usopp asked. Nami leaned in and whispered her plan into his ear. A wide grin spread across Usopp's face. "Oh, you're so naughty!"

"Hehehe!" Nami cackled as she wore a devious smirk of her own. "Good idea, don't you think?"

"That smirk of hers is gonna keep me up at night," Ricky muttered.

"Same here," Zoro told him, "But I'm sane so it'll keep me up for a completely different reason."

"_**OOOH! DO I DETECT A CRUEL PLAN FROM THE HEARTLESS AND CRUEL NAMI? HER DEVIOUS FACE IS SHOWING—"**_

"WHOSE FACE IS DEVIOUS!?" Nami hollered at the announcer.

"Yours," Usopp whispered.

"_**ROUND FOUR IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!"**_

"…" Robin stood silently at the starting line and glanced at the squid fishman that had eliminated her from the last round.

"Hehaha," Jube laughed. "Long time no see."

"On your mark… get set…" **TWEEEEEE!**

Both Robin and Jube raced off of the starting line. For the first time in the event both of the Point-Getters seemed to be about even in terms of skating speed. But Robin stretched her long legs to increase her stride and slowly managed to pull in front of Jube as they approached the first turn on the track.

"_Hmph," _Jube grunted to himself as he stared at Robin from behind. _"Oh no you don't… I may not be as fast as Chiqicheetah but I'm no slouch either."_

**WOOOSH! **Robin looked back to see Jube speed around the curve behind her. He was closing in fast.

"_**THAT'S TWENTY SECONDS! DEFENSE, GO!" **_**TWEEEEE!**

The second whistle went off as Luffy bolted off of the starting line. He stretched his rubber legs and reached the first turn in a flash.

"Is… is he gonna be able to do this?" Usopp asked. He and Nami were on the sidelines in front of the team bench. Sanji was behind it and Zoro and Ricky were sitting on it. They were all watching carefully to see if Luffy had finally learned how to skate properly.

"RAAAH!" Luffy let out a roar as he shot his body straight off the side. **WOING! **Luffy stretched his arm back and grabbed the top of the wall. **WHING! **Luffy swung himself through the air around the corner then shot back down after Robin and Jube. **SHOOM!**

"ALL RIGHT!" Nami exclaimed.

"YES! YES!" Usopp cheered as Luffy gained on Jube and Robin on the far side of the track. "WAY TO GO LUFFY!"

"Hm, bring it on!" Jube taunted Robin as he caught up to her right before the second turn. "I'll be glad to give ya another taste of my Mucha Karamete!"

"OH NO YOU WON'T!" came a loud shout.

Jube looked back, LUFFY WAS BEHIND HIM! Luffy pulled his arm back and shot it out at the fishman. **SHOO-POW! **Luffy's fist slammed into Jube's face.

**WOOSH! **Robin easily glided through the second turn while Jube's was slammed into the wall behind her by Luffy's fist. **WHAM!**

"_**OOOH! SEEMS LIKE HE'S GETTING THE HANG OF IT! STRAW HAT LUFFY SENDS JUBE FLYING!"**_

**Swwiisshhh… **Luffy spread his legs to a stop in front of Jube.

"Shishishi!" Luffy chuckled then turned to look after his Nakama. "Robin! Keep going! I'll handle this guy!"

"Right," Robin agreed as she sped towards the starting line. "Thanks."

But as Robin closed in on the starting line, she found Mashikaku and Girarin waiting for her.

Girarin charged to meet Robin and lashed out with his arm blade. **SWISH! **Robin ducked under it and skated right passed him.

Mashikaku stood behind Girarin blocking the starting line. **Whap! **But Robin quickly grew two chains of arms out of the human-wall's shoulders and shot herself over Mashikaku. **WOOSH!** Robin came down on the other side of Mashikaku and completed her first Robin.

"Yeah! Go Robin!" Ricky cheered from the bench. He looked to the side and noted Hamburg standing with Foxy at the other team's bench. "Hey, how did you recover from the Groggy Ring so quickly?"

"Pupupupup!" Hamburg covered his mouth as he laughed. "My crew has good doctors."

"Yeah… I could use one of those," Ricky remarked. "But we're about to get ours back."

Robin narrowed her eyes as she skated towards the first turn and spotted Porch ahead of her.

Porche readied her baton. Wait… "Hey! My baton's gone!" Porche realized as she stared down at her empty hands.

"**Looking for this?"** Porche turned and saw Nami casually twirling Porche's Cutie Baton on the side lines. "Hehehehe! Sorry!"

"Adorable little thief," Ricky whispered.

"YOU! GIMME THAT BACK!" Porche yelled as Robin skated passed her and made the turn.

Jube finally regained consciousness after getting acquainted with the wall and looked up to see Luffy standing over him.

"Aah!" Jube gasped as he remembered the strength of Luffy's punch.

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed. "Don't even try. I'd just sit this one out if I were you."

"Oh… okay," the fishman agreed, intimidated by the rubber monster standing over him.

**WOOOSH! **Robin skated through the second turn and lapped Jube as she headed for the starting line a second time.

"_**ASTOUNDING! THE STRAW HAT DANGERS ARE ON A ROLL! THEY'VE JUST TAKEN A ONE-LAP LEAD!"**_

"Grr, we'll see about that!" Foxy growled. **Swish! **He hoisted himself up onto Hamburg's back. "HAMBURG! Prepare for a Full Dash!"

"Right," Hamburg agreed as he raced towards the track on all fours.

"Usopp, its time," Nami prompted the sniper.

"Yeah!" Usopp agreed, "Time for Operation Laugh-and-Fall. Are you ready for this?"

"You know it," Nami replied.

Hamburg ran across the mid-circle on the left side of the field while Robin made the first turn in her third lap.

Foxy raised his arm in his usual gesture and aimed it at Robin as she came out of the turn onto the straightaway.

"HEY! SPLIT-HEAD!" Usopp shouted. "ARE YOU GONNA USE YOUR SLOW SLOW DODO BEAM AGAIN!"

"GAAH!" Foxy gasped and fell off of Hamburg. **THUD! **"It's not… a… Dodo Beam…"

"DON'T MAKE FUN OF HIM!" Nami scolded Usopp, "He's cute like a fox."

"FEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed as he jumped back up and swelled from the praise. He completely missed Robin as she skated right passed him.

"THAT STUPID FOX IS ANYTHING _BUT _CUTE!" Usopp called out.

**Fwump! **Foxy dropped down and moped again.

"You're right, he's not cute, foxes are ADORABLE!" Nami countered.

"Fehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed and jumped back up.

"NO ONE COULD THINK THAT CRAPPY SPLIT-HEAD IS ADORABLE!" Usopp snapped.

**Fwump! **"He… he added crappy to split-head…" Foxy whimpered.

"He's handsome!" Nami insisted.

"Fehfehfeh!"

"SPLIT-HEAD!"

**FWUMP!**

"WONDERFUL!"

"CRAPPY!"

"I WANNA HUG HIM!"

"ALL LIES!"

"…"

"SPLIT HEAD! SPLIT HEAD! Uh Nami?" Usopp looked beside him to see that Nami had gone silent. "What are you doing? You need to keep complimenting him!"

"But I can't…" Nami cried, "The thought of hugging him is making me sick to my stomach! Could we… maybe… switch please?"

"INSULT ME, WILL YOU!" Foxy roared as he staggered back up.

"But… there is nothing to compliment," Usopp added. "It doesn't matter who says what. Just keep repeating stuff!"

"Got it," Nami agreed.

"MANLY! MANLY! MANLY! MANLY! MANLY!" Usopp shouted over and over again.

"SPLIT-HEAD! SPLIT-HEAD! SPLIT-HEAD!" Nami called out at the same time.

Foxy practically bounced up and down off of the ground as he soaked in Usopp and Nami's combined compliments and insults. He once again completely missed Robin as she skated passed on her fourth lap.

"_**IT LOOKS LIKE THE BOSS CAN'T SEEM TO FIRE HIS SLOW SLOW BEAM. THE CONTRADICTORY VERBAL ASSAULT BY THE STRAW HATS HAS BROUGHT HIM TO HIS KNEES. TIME'S ALMOST UP!"**_

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed at his crew and Foxy's antics.

**SWISH! **Robin once again easily dodged Girarin's arm blade as she skated passed him on the second turn. **WHISH! **Robin skated around Mashikaku at the starting line just as easily as she completed her fourth lap.

**SWISH! **Robin grinned as she dodged Porche again and made her way through the first turn.

"MANLY! MANLY! MANLY! MANLY!"

"SPLIT-HEAD! SPLIT-HEAD! SPLIT-HEAD! SPLIT-HEAD!"

Usopp and Nami kept Foxy occupied and rendered him completely helpless as time ran out.

**TWEEEEE!**

"_**AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! THE STRAW HAT DANGERS WIN ROUND FOUR BY A LANDSLIDE!" **_

Robin slowly skated back to the starting line and was greeted by an overjoyed Straw Hat crew.

"Alright Robin!" Nami cheered as she high-fived the older woman. "We're back in this!"

"Not a problem," Robin replied as she looked up into the stands and smiled at Chopper.

"Aaah!" the former Straw Hat Doctor gave a sigh of relief now that the Straw Hats had tied up the game at two points each.

"_**THERE WILL BE A FIVE-MINUTE BREAK BEFORE THE FINAL ROUND BEGINS."**_

**-x-**

**The Final Round:**

**-x-**

The Straw Hat Dangers and the Foxy Devils all gathered around their respective benches.

"Grr… I can't believe I fell for that!" Foxy complained as he sat on the bench while Porche, Jube and Girarin stood around him. Hamburg and Mashikaku were both behind the bench. "I didn't expect this to drag out to another round. Listen! We have to win the next one! We'll use the You-Know-What Plan to seal our victory."

"You got it," Girarin agreed.

"YEAH!" Porche, Girarin and Jube all cheered.

At the other bench, the Straw Hats were gathered around Ricky as he and Robin sat on the bench. "You gonna be up for this one?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah, I think I've recovered enough," Ricky said, "Thanks for running out the clock guys."

"No problem," Robin replied.

"And we'll be right there this round too!" Luffy added.

"That fishman's their last racer," Ricky noted. "He doesn't seem very fast so I probably won't even have to push myself very hard to beat him. What happened to that cheetah-guy?"

"Oh, I took care of him last round," Sanji answered. He motioned over to the locker room hallway where Chiqicheetah was rolling in a pile of long kiwis. "I had moss ball go get some of those kiwis during the last round. Kiwis have a special smell that attracts cats. They're like catnip to them."

"Oh, so that's why he was sniffing all over Luffy earlier," Nami realized.

"Exactly," Sanji said, "Cheetahs are cats. I figured it was worth a shot."

"Well that's one less thing to worry about," Ricky reasoned. "Those other four are easy. The only problem we'll have to deal with is Foxy and his Slow Slow Beam."

"Don't worry," Usopp told him. "Nami and I have it covered with Operation Laugh-and-Fall."

"Right then," Ricky resolved. "Let's end this."

"_**NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE FINAL ROUND OF THE EVENT. BOTH TEAMS ARE AT THE STARING LINE READY TO GO."**_

Ricky and Girarin were poised at the starting line as the Point-Getters. Luffy and Robin stood behind Ricky as his defenders. But none of the Foxy Pirates were behind Girarin.

"_**OH, BUT IT SEEMS THAT GIRARIN ALONE IS REPRESENTING THE FOXY DEVILS. THE REST OF THE TEAM IS OFF THE TRACK. COULD THIS MEAN THEY'RE PLANNING TO USE THEIR MOST DEVIOUS TRICK OF ALL?"**_

"Devious trick?" Sanji repeated as he sat on the sidelines with Zoro, Nami and Usopp.

"Come on, you know it's just gonna be that stupid Slow Slow Beam again," Zoro pointed out.

"Oh, wow, you figured it out," Porche remarked. "Yes, we're going to be using the Slow Slow Beam to stop your First Mate. That's our little plan in its entirety."

"Heha," Jube chuckled, "Not that you're gonna be able to do anything about it! Hehahahaha!"

"As if!" Usopp scoffed. "Weren't you paying attention to what happened in the last round? Operation Laugh-and-Fall will stop him cold. HEY! RICKY! JUST SKATE LIKE CRAZY!"

"No worries," Ricky replied from the starting line. "I've got this."

"_**OKAY! IT'S TIME TO BEGIN THE FINAL ROUND!"**_

The referee came over with his whistle. "On your marks… get set..." **TWEEEEEE!**

**WOOSH! **Ricky took off like a shot and was instantly ahead of Girarin.

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed as he got off his bench and made his way to the mid-circle while Ricky swung himself around the turn.

"OH NO!" Usopp exclaimed. "HE'S STARTING ALREADY!"

"MANLY! MANLY! MANLY!"

"SPLIT-HEAD! SPLIT-HEAD! SPLIT-HEAD!"

"…" Foxy smirked as he aimed his hands at Ricky as he raced onto the straightaway. Girarin was already way behind and had only just entered the first turn. "SLOW SLOW BEAM!"

"That old trick again?" Ricky said as he heard Foxy call out his attack. **SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! **Ricky ducked and weaved around a barrage of purple beams.

"_**THERE IT IS! AN ONSLAUGHT OF SLOW SLOW BEAMS!"**_

"What's going on?" Usopp wondered. "Why isn't Operation Laugh-and-Fall working?"

"Fehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed as he turned away from firing at Ricky and cupped his ear. "Huh? Were you two saying something?" When Foxy cupped his ear, Nami and Usopp were easily able to spot the plug that he had in his ear.

"_**EAR PLUGS! THE STRAW HAT DANGERS HAVE BEEN OUTSMARTED! THAT'S OUR BOSS FOR YA!"**_

"EEP! We are screwed!" Usopp squeaked.

"RICKY! LOOK OUT!" Nami shouted.

**FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! **Foxy fired another barrage of Slow Slow Beams at Ricky as he made his way through the second turn. **SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! **Ricky dodged, ducked and weaved around all the beams as he came out of the turn towards the starting line.

"Heeheehee!" Porche laughed. "This time he doesn't have any Foxy Pirates to hide behind."

"_**AND THAT'S TWENTY SECONDS!" **_**TWEEEEE!**

"GET DOWN GUYS!" Ricky called out to Luffy and Robin.

**FWOOOSH! FWOOOSH! FWOOOOSH! **Foxy fired series of Slow Slow Beams at the starting line. **FWUP! **Luffy and Robin dropped down to the track and the beams sailed over them. **SKISH! **Ricky launched himself up into the air and jumped clear over the purple beams.** SWISH-WISH-WISH! **The three beams kept going and struck Chiqicheetah in the locker room hallway as he continued to roll in his pile of long kiwis.

**TMP! **Ricky landed and raced away from the starting line. "Let's go Luffy! Keep dodging!"

**WOOSH! **Luffy shot off after Ricky while Robin stayed down on the track.

"HOLD STILL YOU LITTLE PESTS!" Foxy shouted as he shot a barrage of beams at Ricky and Luffy as they reached the turn. **FWOOSH-FWOOSH-FWOOSH-FWOOSH-FWOOSH!**

**SWISH! **"Like hell," Ricky retorted as he dropped down into a low crouch and ducked under the beams as he swung himself around the inside of the turn.

**WHING! **"Why would we do that?" Luffy wondered as he swung himself over the track and Foxy's beams.

**SHOOOM! **Ricky shot up and Luffy came down at the same time and they both sped along the straightaway after Girarin who was just entering the second turn in his first lap.

"Listen Luffy," Ricky said as he they continued to dodge and weave around Foxy's beams. "I don't think I can keep going for five minutes at this rate. But we can end the round early if we knock that other guy off the track."

"Right, I'll take him out!" Luffy agreed as they quickly gained on Girarin.

"NOT IF I TAKE YOU OUT FIRST!" Girarin snapped. He spun around and lashed out at Ricky with his arm blade. **SWISH! **Ricky ducked underneath the attack and successfully lapped him.

"NOW YOU'RE DONE!" Luffy called out as he stretched his arm backwards. "GUM GUM…"

**FWOOSH!** Foxy shot a Slow Slow Beam and it hit Girarin. **WHISH! **AND BOUNCED OFF! **FWOOSH! **Luffy never saw it coming and was hit by the beam as it bounced off the fishman. Luffy was left frozen in place with his arm still stretched out behind him.

"_**OH! AND THE BOSS FREEZES STRAW HAT IN HIS TRACKS!"**_

"WHAT THE!" Sanji exclaimed, "Did he just deflect the Slow Slow Beam?"

"Oh, you noticed?" Porche cooed. "Yes, the Slow Slow Beam doesn't work on Girarin."

"What? Really?" Sanji's eyes became hearts as he found himself as the center of the Foxy Idol's attention. "No way! How is that possible?"

Porche smiled and wagged her finger at him, "Sorry, but it's a secret!"

"A secret?" Sanji repeated, "Oh! Well that makes perfect sense!"

"Now I get it," Zoro realized. "That's why the rest of your team wasn't on the course."

"Heeheeheehee, yup!" Porche giggled. "Now your whole team will be turned into slowpokes. But we won't!"

"This is bad," Usopp remarked, "Now what are we gonna do?"

"Coming through Robin!" Ricky called out as he approached the starting line. Girarin was already far behind him and had just come out of the turn.

**Fwip-SKISH! **Robin dropped down again and still hadn't moved off of the starting line while Ricky once again jumped clear over the starting line, Robin and Foxy's beams.

"_**ONE MINUTE INTO THE RACE AND RICKY HAS A ONE-LAP LEAD ON GIRARIN!"**_

Robin pushed herself up off of the track and crossed her arms as Girarin raced towards the starting line. "Seis Fleur…" Two arms sprouted out of Girarin's shoulders, another two came out of his back and grabbed his elbows, the final two came out of his legs and locked them together.

**FWOOOOSH! **Before Robin could say 'clutch' she was hit by a purple beam. Robin was frozen in place but her six arms still kept their hold on Girarin. **FWUMP! **The fishman couldn't skate with his legs locked together and flopped to the ground behind the finish line.

"Fehfehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed, "I got another one!" Foxy turned around to see Ricky come out of the first turn. "Now if he would only hold still…" **FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! **Once again, Ricky frantically dodged and ducked to avoid Foxy's barrage of Slow Slow Beams.

"Koff!" Ricky spat up blood as he spun around another one of Foxy's beams. "Damn it… all this jumping around the track like an acrobat isn't helping…" Ricky's fast pace notably slowed as he skated along the straightaway but he still managed to dodge the beams that Foxy fired at him.

"Ricky's slowing down," Usopp noted. "At this rate he won't be able to dodge for much longer. Nami, we've gotta… Nami?" Usopp trailed off when he noticed that Nami wasn't next to him.

"NOT SO FAST!" Foxy spun around and fired his Slow Slow Beam. **FWOOSH! **Nami was left frozen in her tracks with her hands outstretched in her foiled attempt to steal Foxy's ear plugs.

"OH NO! NAMI!" Usopp shrieked.

"HERE'S A TASTE FOR YOU TOO!" **FWOOSH!** Foxy's purple beam hit Usopp and he was left paralyzed too. "FEHFEHFEH! HOW'S THAT FOR A DODO-BEAM?"

"_**LOOKS LIKE THE BOSS AS FROZEN ALL FOUR OF THE STRAW HAT DEFENDERS. THE ONLY ONE THAT'S LEFT IS THE POINT-GETTER RICKY."**_

"_That should've been thirty seconds,"_ Ricky thought to himself as he skated towards the turn.

"PISTOL!" **SWISH! **Luffy came unfrozen and shot his fist forward but hit nothing.

**FWOOSH!** Before Luffy could even start skating again Foxy hit him with a Slow Slow Beam.

"Damn it!" Ricky cursed as he weaved around behind the re-frozen Luffy as he made the turn. Luffy's extended rubber fist was still stretched out in front of him.

Foxy spun and fired another Slow Slow Beam at Robin. **FWOOSH! **Robin remained frozen in place on the starting line without even having a chance to recover from the first blast.

Ricky came out of the turn and approached the starting line again. He spotted Girarin still on the ground with Robin's extra arms holding onto him. **WOOSH!** Ricky put on another burst of speed and leaned forward to avoid another beam. **SWISH! **He raced towards Girarin then spun and lashed out his leg. **THWAK! **Ricky's skate connected with the prone fishman and sent him flying off the track. **THUD!**

"_**RICKY JUST KICKED GIRARIN OFF THE TRACK! THAT'S A DISQUALIFICATION… BUT WAIT, THE REFEREE APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN FROZEN! HE CAN'T MAKE THE CALL."**_

The referee was frozen still while looking in the other direction. However, the sweat that was dripping down his face was moving at normal speed.

"HE'S FAKING!" Sanji yelled. "I'LL KICK HIS FACE IN!"

"Cool down, eyebrows!" Zoro snapped as he grabbed the cook and held him back. "If you attack him he'll end up disqualifying Ricky."

"DON'T TOUCH ME, BASTARD!" Sanji snapped as he spun around in Zoro's hold and lashed out with his leg. **SWISH! **Zoro ducked under the kick.

"WHY YOU!" Zoro growled as he drew his swords, "That's it! I'm _taking_ the Coach position!" Zoro slashed his swords at Sanji and the two of them started fighting again.

"Damn it!" Ricky growled as she skated passed Robin and the starting line. He glared at the referee as he skated passed. "Now I can't even knock him off the track!"

Hamburg ran over to Girarin and pried the fishman's arms and legs apart. Robin's grip was broken and her arms disappeared. Hamburg grabbed Girarin in a bear hug then spun and threw him onto the track and across the starting line, "GORRILA THROW!" **WOOOSH!**

Girarin flew through the air faster than he had been skating the whole race. **WHOOOSH! **The fishman whizzed passed Ricky and landed on the first turn. **TMP!**

"_**GIRARIN'S BACK ON THE TRACK! THE REFEREE NEVER NOTICED ANYTHING SO HE'S STILL IN THIS RACE!"**_

**TMP! **Girarin landed on the track and quickly skated through the turn. "So long sucker!"

For the first time in the race, Ricky found himself behind Girarin and skated to catch up. **FWOOSH FWOOSH! FWOOSH! **Foxy fired another barrage of beams. But these weren't aimed at Ricky. **WHISH! WHISH! WHISH! **The purple beams hit Girarin and bounced off him then flew back at Ricky.

**SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! **Instead of weaving forward and backwards, Ricky now had to weave from side-to-side to avoid Foxy's beams.

"YOU CAN'T DODGE THEM ALL!" Foxy shouted. **FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! **He fired a series of beams at Ricky then fired another batch at Girarin. **FWOOSH! FWOOSH! WHISH! WHISH! **Girarin reflect the beams that were shot at him back at Ricky.

"_How does he keep reflecting those beams?" _Ricky wondered as he now found himself dodging Foxy's beams as they flew at him from two different directions. _"He's not very strong. He's not a good skater. The only thing special about him are those arm blades. And even then they're dull. They're just shiny accessories." _Ricky's eye widened. _"Shiny! Reflect! He isn't immune he's using the metal blades to reflect the light from the beams!"_

**SHOOOM! **Ricky launched himself forward passed the beams that Foxy had shot at him then spun in midair as he dodged between the two beams that had reflected off of Girarin. **WHAM! **Ricky slammed into Girarin and tackled him to the ground.

"AH-HA!" Foxy cried out. "GOTCHA NOW! SLOW SLOW BEAM!" **FWOOSH!**

Ricky grabbed Girarin's arm and pulled it up in front of him. **WHISH! **The purple beam reflected off of the metal blade, flew across the field and hit Mashikaku. **FWOOSH! **No one noticed any difference in the big rectangular man.

"_**I DON'T BELIVE IT! RICKY JUST DEFLECTED THE BOSS' ATTACK USING GIRARIN'S ARM BLADES!"**_

"LEMME GO!" Girarin broke free from Ricky's grip and swung his blade at his head.

**SWISH! **Ricky weaved back to avoid the strike.

"YOU'RE WIDE OPEN!" **FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! **Foxy fired another barrage of Slow Slow Beams.

"No, I was baiting you," Ricky replied. **Whap! **His hand shot up and he caught Girarin's extended arm blade as it flew over his head then pulled it in front of him. **WHISH! WHISH! WHISH! **The first three beams bounced off of Girarin's blade but then Ricky pulled the fishman further forward and he caught the final one in the back. **FWOOSH!**

The other three beams flew across the field at Foxy's crew. **FWOOSH! **Hamburg was left frozen with his hands covering his mouth in mid-laugh. **FWOOSH! **Jube was struck on the back. **FWUMP! **Porche dove out of the way and Jube was hit by the one that was aimed at her. **FWOOSH!**

"_**OH NO! FOXY'S JUST SLOWED DOWN HIS ENTIRE TEAM!"**_

"GRAH! WHY YOU!" Foxy yelled. "HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME FREEZE MY OWN CREW! I'LL SHOW YOU!" Foxy spun around and fired a barrage of Slow Slow Beams. **FWOOOSH! **Nami was still frozen and was the closest so she got hit first. **FWOOSH! **Usopp still hadn't recovered from his first exposure to the Slowmo Photons and was hit again. **FWOOSH! **Zoro and Sanji's fight was brought to an abrupt stop as they were frozen in midair. Sanji was swinging his foot around at Zoro's side while Zoro was swinging his sword down at Sanji's shoulder. **FWOOSH! **Robin was once again frozen on the starting line. **FWOOSH! **Luffy received his third dose of Slowmo Photons and was still frozen on the same turn.

"FEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed. "NOW _YOUR CREW _IS FROZEN TOO! IT'S JUST YOU AND ME NOW KID!"

"_**WHOA! THE BOSS AND 'ONE EYE' RICKY ARE THE ONLY ONES MOVING DOWN ON THE TRACK! THIS HAS BECOME A BATTLE BETWEEN FOXES! A SHOWDOWN BETWEEN OUR BOSS, FOXY THE SILVER FOX AND RICKY THE RED FOX!"**_

"I've never been called that before," Ricky remarked as he stood up and pulled the frozen stiff Girarin up along with him and held the fishman in front of him like a shield.

"So… what are you going to do now, you little punk?" Foxy sneered.

"I'm just gonna stand here and wait you out," Ricky answered. "Any beams that you fire at me, I'll deflect using this guy. I've still got a two lap lead over him so in three minutes when the round's over, I'll win."

"Oh no you won't!"

"_**WHAT'S THIS? PORCHE WASN'T FROZEN! THAT'S OUR IDOL!"**_

Porche walked towards the track. "You're going to step off of that track right now."

Ricky raised an eyebrow, "And why would I do that?"

Instead of going up to Foxy, Porche went up behind Nami who was still frozen in place. "Because if you don't… your girlfriend is going to end up exposed."

"Fehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed. "Way to go Porche!"

"She's not my girlfriend," Ricky insisted. Porche smirked as she wrapped her arms around Nami from behind. She grabbed the bottom of Nami's shirt then pulled it and her jersey up to her chest. "Whoa, what're you doing?"

Porche smirked and pulled Nami's t-shirt and jersey over her shoulders and head then down her arms that were still outstretched in front of her. Nami was left in a gold bra and her white pants.

"_**WHOA! IT LOOKS LIKE OUR PORCHE IS GIVING THAT DEVIOUS, UNDERHANDED NAVIGATOR NAMI A TASTE OF HER OWN MEDICINE!"**_

It was strange to see someone blush in slow motion. First Nami's cheeks went pink then it slowly spread through her face. The normally instant reaction had been slowed to three full seconds.

Porche's hand went to Nami's bra strap, "If you don't step off that track to stop me, your girlfriend is going to end up topless."

"Again, not my girlfriend," Ricky stated.

"Oh, you naughty boy," Porche teased him. "You actually want to see, don't you?"

"When did I say that?" Ricky wondered.

Mashikaku blinked. At full speed. Of course he was so slow that no one noticed.

"Just remember," Porche said with a wide grin, "If I pull her bra off, you're not going to be the only one to see your girlfriend's charms. Girarin will see them… the Boss will see them…" Ricky glanced at Foxy who wore a wide lecherous grin.

Foxy was caught up in staring at Nami and Porche so he didn't notice when Ricky tightened his hold on Girarin's neck to keep him from twitching.

"Oh, and that crowd of two hundred Foxy Pirates will see them too," Porche added as she pointed to the second set of stands.

Ricky craned his neck and looked behind him. "Huh… I completely forgot about those guys."

"Hey! What's going on?" Jube called out.

"Hah-ha," Ricky chuckled, "You know what's funny? Ever since I reunited with my brother and became a Straw Hat Pirate, I've gotten really good at one very specific thing… stalling for time."

What happened next, happened really fast.

**SWISH! **Nami spun around in Porche's hold and slugged her in the face. **POW!**

"AH! MY NOSE!" Porche screamed as she dropped to the ground and clutched her face.

**SKISH! **Usopp ran and jumped into the air so he could push Zoro and Sanji apart.

**TMP! TMP! **The swordsman and the cook sailed passed each other and landed in crouches on opposite sides of the sniper.

Robin stood up on the starting line and crossed her arms over her chest, "Seis Fleur…"

"WAH!" Foxy yelped as two arms came out of his sides and grabbed his elbows to keep them straight while two arms came out of each of his arms and grabbed his hands which were still in the pose for the Slow Slow Beam. **Krek-krek… **Foxy's wrists strained as Robin's extra hands twisted his hands back the other way.

**SHWUP! **Luffy extended rubber arm retracted.

"LUFFY! CATCH!" Ricky spun and threw Girarin towards his brother. **WOOSH!**

"GUM… GUM… STAMP!" Luffy turned and shot out his rubber leg. **THWHAM! **Luffy leg extended until his skate slammed into Girarin's chest but then kept going until it drove the fishman downward and planted him off the track and on the grass field. **WHAM!**

The referee was, of course, still pretending to be frozen as he looked the other way.

"YOU!" Jube growled as he extended his eight arms towards Robin. "Mucha Karamete…"

**Shunk! **A sword sank into the ground in front of Jube's arms hands as he suddenly founded both Zoro and Sanji standing in between him and Robin.

"Know any good recipes for squid?" Zoro asked.

"That depends," Sanji replied, "Do you want him grilled or deep-fried."

"UURGGH!" Foxy groaned. "NO! NO! NO! YOU WOULDN'T!" Robin's hands twisted Foxy's until they were pointed right at their owner's face.

"MY NOSE!" Porche wailed on the ground. "SHE BROKE MY NOSE!"

**WOOOSH! **With Foxy distracted, Ricky took off and raced towards Luffy and the second turn.

**SKISH! **Luffy jumped off the track and crashed down on Girarin's chest. **THUD! **Luffy remained seated on Girarin's chest and smirked at Hamburg as he approached. "Try to throw him back on now."

"NOOO!" **FWOOSH! **There was a flash of purple. Robin's hands disappeared and Foxy was left frozen in place with his hands still pointed at himself.

"_**OH NO! THE BOSS HAS SLOWED HIMSELF DOWN! BUT THERE'S STILL OVER TWO MINUTES LEFT IN THIS RACE!"**_

The referee was still looking the other way and completely ignored the fact that the Foxy Devil's Point-Getter was no longer on the track.

**Skeeesshhh… **Ricky skidded to a stop at the starting line then dropped down and sat on it. Robin shrugged and sat down next to him. She hadn't left the starting line yet, why start now?

Ricky and Robin both stared at the referee who was still pretending to be frozen.

"You can either call it now," Ricky said, "or I'll just sit here until the time runs out. It's over."

The referee turned around and blinked. Luffy had Girarin pinned down on the field off the track. Foxy was still frozen place due to his own Slow Slow Beam. Zoro, Usopp and Sanji were all unfrozen. Nami had pulled her shirt back on and was storming across the field. Ricky and Robin were both glaring at him as they sat on the starting line.

The referee made the only call he could. He raised his whistle and blew. **TWEEEEEEEE!**

"_**THE WINNER OF THE ROUND IS RICKY! THE STRAW HAT DANGERS WIN!"**_

The Foxy Pirates were all shocked speechless but one tiny reindeer's loud cheers made up for it. "YYEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"_**THE STRAW HATS HAVE PULLED OUT A COME-FROM-BEHIND VICTORY! THE DAVY BACK FIGHT HAS COME TO A SHOCKING END!"**_

"YEAH! WE WON!" Luffy cheered as he jumped off of Girarin and raced back to his crew.

"WE WON! WE WON! WE WON! WE WON!" Usopp jumped up and down and cheered.

"I guess everything worked out after all," Sanji resolved.

"I guess so," Zoro agreed.

"Please pick Chopper this time," Ricky requested.

"Please pick me this time!" Chopper sobbed up in the stands.

"_**NOW IT'S TIME TO CHOOSE YOUR NEW CREW MEMBER!"**_

"COME ON BACK, CHOPPER!" Luffy shouted.

Ricky stood up and held out his arms, "Get back down here, Little Brother."

"YEAH!" Chopper cheered as he ripped off his Foxy mask and ears then jumped off his seat in the crowd. **SKISH! **Ricky caught Chopper in midair and was knocked on his back. **THUD!**

Chopper bawled unintelligibly into Ricky's chest as the other Straw Hats gathered around them. "I was so scared!" Chopper cried. "I'm so happy you won!"

"Well you shouldn't have been," Ricky replied. "I told you we were gonna win you back."

"Yeah, a bunch of suckers like them could never beat my crew!" Luffy boasted.

"Welcome back, little guy," Zoro said as he patted the top of Chopper's top hat.

The Straw Hat Pirates were now whole with all eight members once again.

"Hey Chopper… I could really use a doctor…" Ricky stated.

"Right, I'll go get one!" Chopper agreed as he made to get off of Ricky.

"THAT'S YOU!" Luffy, Nami, Usopp and Sanji reminded the reindeer.

"_**WE'VE SEEN BLOOD, SWEAT AND PLENTY OF TEARS HERE TODAY BUT THE DAVY BACK FIGHT HAS FINALLY DRAWN TO A CLOSE. WITH THE STRAW HATS RECLAIMING THEIR DOCTOR TONY TONY CHOPPER, I'D SAY THIS MATCH ENDS IN A DRAW."**_

"HOLD IT! HOLD IT! HOLD IT!" Foxy called out as he came over flanked by Hamburg, Mashikaku, Jube, Girarin and Chiqicheetah.

A Foxy Pirate had run onto the field and was currently checking on Porche.

"Any Captain worth his weight in seaweed knows there are no draws in the Pirate World," Foxy stated. "It's plunder or be plundered. You won't let it end like this? Will you?"

"What was that?" Ricky asked as he sat on the ground with his shirt off while Chopper wrapped a long length of bandages around his stomach and chest. "Since when is winning two games to one considered a draw?"

"I… Because neither of our crews changed!" Foxy sputtered. "I won your Doctor, you won him back. That makes it a draw."

"We also won that horse," Ricky reminded him. "You're just sore because we broke your undefeated streak. Now we're the one in 'nine hundred twenty-and-one'."

"THAT DOESN'T COUNT!" Foxy snapped. "You only beat my crew. I never actually competed in any of the games. You didn't beat me." Foxy grinned as he held up three gold coins in between his fingers. "Come on, Straw Hat. What do you say to another Three Coin game to decide which of us is really the best? This time, I'll be an active participant."

"Yeah, like we'd agree to that," Usopp scoffed.

"After all that cheating, you'd have to be an idiot to go for another round," Nami remarked.

**BANG! **The Straw Hats all gaped in shock as their Captain stood their grinning like an idiot as he held up the smoking pistol that he'd just fired. "YOU'RE ON, SPLIT-HEAD! SHISHISHI!"

**BA-BONK! **Nami and Usopp clubbed him over the head and proceeded to stomp all over him while screaming why it was such a stupid idea.

"Okay… this is the last time…" a bloody and battered Luffy mumbled when they pulled him up. "I won't do it again… I promise…"

"You're kidding," Chopper said, "I don't know if I have any tears left to cry."

"He already agreed so it's not like we can back out now," Zoro pointed out.

"I doubt he would go through the trouble if he didn't have something in mind," Robin remarked.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Sanji said. "Well… unless he's thinking he can nab us a Shipwright from Foxy's crew."

"Here we go again…" Ricky groaned. Nami came over and stared down at him with her arms firmly folded across her chest.

"Nice skating," she said.

"Ollie taught me everything I know," Ricky replied.

Nami scowled. "If Ollie's so amazing and you're so _repulsed _about me being your girlfriend… WHY DON'T YOU JUST DATE _HER _THEN!" Nami turned and stomped off. "BOTH OF THEM ARE IDIOTS!"

"There's just no winning with her anymore," Ricky muttered.

"_**STRAW HAT HAS AGREED TO ANOTHER THREE-COIN DAVY BACK FIGHT!" **_Itomimizu called out,_** "WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED!"**_

**-x-**

Next chapter covers the first two events in the new game.

'Till Next Time…

Peace!


	5. New Game

**Another Nakama IV**

**Disclaimer:** The following is a non-profit fanfic. One Piece and all the related characters are owned by Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV, Shueisha, Shonnan Jump Manga and Eiichiro Oda. QPython only owns the original characters that he created for this story.'

**A/N:**** Something came up and I lost one of my writing days. I was unable to complete both episodes for this chapter. But I did manage to finish the Hit and Dead Ball episode and I didn't want to skip a week so decided to split the chapter in two smaller chapters. That way I could still update on schedule. I think that a short chapter is better than no chapter.**

**New Game:**

**-x-**

"_**WE'RE ALMOST READY FOR THE SECOND THREE-COIN DAVY BACK FIGHT!" **_Itomimizu shouted into the microphone on the stage while the Foxy Pirates all around him were setting up for the new Davy Back Fight games. The stands and the track from the Roller Race were already gone. It was almost as if they were never there at all. _**"WHAT DO YOU WANT?"**_

Ricky stood in front of the stage and flashed a foxy grin as he held out his hand, "Pay up."

"_**I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" **_Itomimizu insisted.

"Again, I'm right here," Ricky pointed out. "There's no need to shout into that microphone."

"_**Move along, kid, I'm busy!" **_Itomimizu ordered in a quieter voice.

"Not until you pay me," Ricky refused. "Remember, you closed the pools before I could bet on the Donut Race. So while we were doing commentary I placed a million berries on my crew to win the Groggy Ring Match and the Round Round Roller Race. You gave me ten-to-one odds in the Groggy Ring Match and twenty-to-one odds in the Roller Race. That means you owe me thirty million berries."

"_**I DID NO SUCH THING!" **_Itomimizu protested as sweat poured down his face.

"We shook on it," Ricky stated. "I said I wanted to have a witness but you insisted that your bird could serve as our witness. I _know_ that you still have my two million berries in your bag." Itomimizu's legs started shaking. "So… you can either pay me the money you owe me right now… _or _you can bring horrible shame to your crew by breaking the oath that your beloved Captain swore to Davy Jones to follow through on any lost bet during the games."

"_**THAT-THAT ONLY PERTAINS TO LOST CREW MEMBERS!" **_Itomimizu sputtered.

"No, the rule pertains to _all _lost bets," Ricky argued. "I know. I've played this game before. On my old crew I made a small fortune from betting on these games. Either hand over the money or the new competition ends before it starts."

"_**D-don't you want to let the money ride on the new games?" **_the subdued loud mouth offered.

"No," Ricky refused. "I made those bets before I knew you guys were such horrible cheaters. You cheated in every game. And now you're trying to weasel out of paying me my winnings. Either pay me or end the games now. At this point I don't care which one you choose."

"Pay the brat, Ito!" Foxy ordered from his seat on the stage. "He won't be able to enjoy his winnings for long!"

"_**FINE," **_Itomimizu conceded. _**"I'LL GET THE MONEY FROM THE SHIP." **_The Party Organizer threw a slip of paper at Ricky, _**"IN THE MEAN TIME FILL OUT YOUR NEW ROSTER FOR THE NEXT THREE GAMES."**_

Ricky nodded and made his way back to the other Straw Hats. "I'm sorry guys," he apologized. "But it didn't work. I probably should have bet more then they would've had to stop the new games because they couldn't afford to pay off the bet."

"It was worth a shot though," Sanji resolved.

"Oh! What games do we have this time?" Luffy asked eagerly.

"Let's see…" Ricky said as he looked at the new roster. "We've got a ball game, a race and a boxing match. The boxing match is a Captain's Fight so that'll have to be Luffy versus Foxy. The rest of us can compete in the race and everyone can participate in the ball game. That'll give everyone two games to participate in."

"That seemed a lot simpler than the last one," Zoro noted.

"They probably don't want us to pull the substitute trick again," Ricky reasoned. "So if we lose this time… we'll probably end up playing a man down in the race. And if they try to pick Luffy, I expect everyone here to start chanting 'hypocritical peanut' at the top of their lungs."

"We won't have to worry about that," Chopper insisted. "This time I'm gonna win!"

Itomimizu came back with a bag of money. He threw it to Ricky. "Here."

Ricky caught the money and tossed it over to Nami. "Put that with the stuff for the Merry." Ricky handed the Foxy Pirates' Party Organizer their new roster.

"RIGHT! LET'S GO!" Luffy shouted as he ran towards the field.

Ricky shrugged as he, Zoro, Sanji, Robin and Chopper followed after their energetic captain.

Nami and Usopp hung their heads as they trudged after the others. "No doubt about it," Usopp moaned. "This time they're gonna pick me for sure."

"Yeah right," Nami retorted, "I know they've got their eyes on me. I'm doomed to spend the rest of my life as their poster girl."

"Keep telling yourself that," two Foxy Pirates scoffed as they walked passed. "But we don't want either of you on our crew. Especially you after what you did to Porche."

"Huh? What's that?" Usopp questioned. It was an insult but also a big relief.

Nami looked ahead to see that Porche was standing near the court. The Foxy Pirates' Idol had a bandage going over the bridge of her previously broken nose and was sporting a black eye.

"Serves her right," Nami muttered.

They made it to the Groggy Ring field and found that only half of the long field from the other ball game was going to be used. That half of the field had been split in half by a new line of paint that went through the mid-circle.

Itomimizu was seated at a new commentary table with an awning over his head. The table was positioned alongside the middle of the field and Chirp Chirp on a perch next to him.

"_**WITH OUR SECOND DAVY BACK FIGHT OF THE DAY ABOUT TO START, I'M BACK IN THE ANNOUNCER'S SEAT TO EXPLAIN THE RULES OF THE FIRST MATCH. THE NAME OF THE GAME IS HIT AND DEAD BALL. THE BALLS IN QUESTION ARE THE TWO YOU SEE ON THE FIELD RIGHT NOW."**_

The two balls looked like white volley balls but had round lumps on their tops, bottoms and all four sides.

"_**IF THE OPPOSING TEAM HITS YOU WITH ONE OF THOSE BABIES, YOU'RE OUT OF THE GAME. THE TEAMS ARE DIVIDED INTO ON-COURT AND OFF-COURT MEMBERS. THEY'RE FREE TO CHOOSE WHICH ONES GO WHERE AND IN WHATEVER NUMBER. BUT ONCE YOU RUN OUT OF ON-COURT MEMBERS YOU LOSE THE MATCH. KEEP IN MIND THAT ALTHOUGH THE OFF-COURT MEMBERS CAN THROW THE BALL AROUND JUST LIKE ANYONE ELSE, THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER THE COURT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE."**_

"They make it sound all fancy but it seems like regular old dodgeball to me," Sanji remarked.

"It is," Ricky replied, "Except they added a bunch of annoying rules. We didn't do this one very often with the Whitebeard Pirates. It seemed like too much of a kid's game."

"_**THERE ARE SOME OTHER MISCELLANEOUS DETAILS SO BE SURE TO READ THE RULE BOOK CAREFULLY." **_Itomimizu pulled out a massive book with a hard brown cover and the words 'Hit and Dead Ball Rule Book' in red on the tossed the thick rule book to the Straw Hats.

**Whap! **Robin had to grow additional arms out of her shoulders in order to catch the heavy tome.

"That's the rule book?" Chopper questioned.

"You wouldn't expect it to be so thick," Robin commented.

"_**HIT AND DEAD BALL IS ONE OF THE GREATEST AND MOST TIME HONORED DAVY BACK GAMES. BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN PLAYED SO MANY TIMES OVER THE YEARS MORE AND MORE RULES HAVE BEEN ADDED TO BALANCE AND PERFECT ITS FORM. ONLY BY STRICT ADHERENCE TO THESE RULES CAN THE GAME TRULY BE ENJOYED."**_

"It basically boils down to don't get hit by the ball and don't do anything to damage the ball," Ricky summarized.

"What's the point in preaching to us about the rules if they're just going to break them all anyway?" Nami wondered. "Did you just give us the rule book so we'll know how bad you're cheating?"

"_**NOW, NOW, NOW, TAKE A LOOK AT THE FIRST PAGE," **_Itomimizu replied.

Robin cracked the huge book opened and read the first page. "'Referee Regulations: He who makes a judgment contrary to the rules written here shall be beheaded on the spot."

"BEHEADED?" Chopper exclaimed. "SCARY!"

"Now I actually want that crooked referee to oversee this match," Ricky remarked.

"_**WELL HE ISN'T," **_Itomimizu told him. _**"THIS GAME WILL BE OFFICIATED BY A TEAM OF FIVE REFEREES, HEADED BY A VET WITH FIFTY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE ROKUROSHI."**_

The four regular referees were all identical. They wore a uniform which consisted of white collared shirts, red ties, blue pants, and pale blue ball caps. They also wore Foxy Masks and ears.

**Rokuroshi **the Head Referee was a short old man with a square head an big lips that covered the bottom of his face. He had thin gray hair and wore a Foxy Mask and Foxy ears. His uniform consisted of a white collared shirt with blue rings around the short sleeves, a red tie and blue shorts instead of pants.

"We might actually get a fair fight this time around," Zoro noted.

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed happily.

Nami stayed on the sidelines while Robin was given a chair as she sat down and began to read through the enormous rule book.

The six male Straw Hats made their way onto the field to face the opposing team which consisted of Foxy, Hamburg, Chiqicheetah, Jube, Girarin and another fifty unnamed Foxy Pirates. An additional hundred Foxy Pirates surrounded the field which included Porche, Capote, Pickles, Big Pan and Mashikaku.

"_**TEAM FOXY HAS A VERITABLE ARMADA OF PLAYERS, TRULY A STUPENDOUS SPECTACLE TO SEE. SADLY, THE STRAW HATS PALE IN COMPARISON WITH THEIR DIMINUTIVE SHOWING SPORTING A MEASLY EIGHT MEMBERS I MUST WONDER IF WE'RE EVEN TRYING."**_

"OKAY! WE GET IT!" Usopp snapped.

"It's quality over quantity," Ricky stated. "We didn't need crazy excessive number to win the last Davy Back Fight."

Rokuroshi had taken his seat in a high chair next to Chirp Chirp while the other four referees had spread out so each one could stand by one corner of the ring.

"_**LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD," **_Itomimizu resolved. _**"WE'LL START THE MATCH OFF WITH THE DOUBLE OPENING TIP."**_

Two of the referees walked into the middle of the field and picked up the balls in the mid circle.

"Each team bring two players to the center of the field," Rokuroshi ordered from his chair.

The Fighting Fishmen Jube and Girarin stepped forward to represent the Foxy Pirates while Luffy eagerly walked out to meet them.

Zoro looked over at Ricky who stood with his hands in his pockets in the middle of their side. "Don't look at me. This game is ridiculous. I'll work my strategy from right here." Zoro shrugged and went to join Luffy at the mid circle but Chopper cut him off.

"Hey, do you mind if I do this?" the reindeer requested.

Zoro looked back at their recently reclaimed doctor. "Sure. Be my guest. Jump your heart out little guy."

"Alright!" Chopper cheered. He pulled out a familiar yellow ball. "Rumble!" **Crunch! **Chopper walked over to Luffy and stretched upward into his tall thin Jump Point form.

"_**CHOPPER HAS TRANSFORMED! IT LOOKS LIKE HE'S NOT JUST FLUFF AFTER ALL. HE COULD TURN OUT TO BE A POWERFUL PLAYER FOR THE STRAW HATS."**_

"Oh no!" Porche gasped in shock, "What's that? Now he's not cute at all!"

"Ready, set and go!" Rokuroshi called out before he blew his whistle. **TWEEEEEEEEEE!**

The referees threw the balls up into the air.

"RAH!" Jube and Girarin charged at Luffy and Chopper instead of going for the balls. **SKISH!** Chopper's Jump Point Leg Boost launched him a good twenty feet up into the air. But Luffy was a bouncy rubber man and he was right up there next to him as they caught the balls. **Wha-whap!**

**SHUNK! **"Uuuuggghh…" Jube and Girarin groaned and struggled. Girarin's arm blade and Jube's eight arms had been embedded in the ground due to their missed attack.

"NICE CATCH!" Usopp exclaimed. "Now give 'em a good spike to the face!"

"Or don't," Ricky added.

Jube and Girarin were wide open with their arms stuck in the ground. But Luffy had his sights set on a different target.

"Aim straight for Split-head!" Luffy instructed. "Come on Chopper! LET'S GO!" Luffy shot his rubber arm forward and threw the ball with the force of a cannon. **WOOSH!**

"Right!" Chopper agreed. His lanky Jump Point form suddenly bulked up as his arms quadrupled in side for his Arm Point Transformation. **WOOSH! **Chopper hurled his ball down at Foxy.

"Aaaaah!" Foxy yelped as he looked up and stared wide-eyed up at the incoming balls.

"_**OH NO! OUR BOSS IS IN TROUBLE!"**_

**WHAM! WHAM! **Foxy got blasted in the face by the two balls and crashed to the ground from the incredible force behind them. **THUD!**

"_**WHAT!? HE'S ALREADY OUT OF THE GAME!?"**_

"Yeah, you really showed their boss whose boss!" Usopp cheered.

"Safe!" Rokuroshi announced. "Safe!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'SAFE'?" Usopp demanded. "That was a clean hit, you old fart!"

"It's a violation of Article 23," Rokuroshi stated. "Blows to the face do not count."

"You're kidding…" Usopp growled.

"Look at it this way Usopp," Ricky said. "That guy wasted fifty years of his life learning all those rules. Instead of getting angry at him you should feel sorry for him."

"Wow boss, that looks liked it hurt," Hamburg remarked as he and Chiqicheetah pulled Foxy up off of the ground. The two balls were embedded in Foxy's eyes. "Pupupupupu!'

"Don't laugh Hamburg," Chiqicheetah said for his only line of actual dialogue. "You're gonna make the boss cry."

The two balls dropped off of Foxy's face and rolled off the field. Nami ran over and quickly scooped the balls up then tossed them towards the Straw Hats. "Heads up!"

Ricky finally pulled his hands out of his pockets and caught both balls. **Whap! Whap! **He leaned back then whipped the two balls towards the middle of the field.

**CHA-CHUNK! **Jube and Girarin had finally pulled their embedded arms free from the ground. **WHAM! WHAM! **They stood up in time to get blasted in the stomach by the balls.**THUD! THUD! ** The two fishmen flew one way and crashed to the ground while the balls bounced off them and went the other.

**Whap! Whap! **Zoro and Sanji reached up and casually caught the rebounding balls.

"Clean hit!" Rokuroshi called out. "Jube and Girarin from Team Foxy are out!"

"And that's how it's done boys," Ricky boasted while the Fighting Fishmen pulled themselves up and trudged off the field.

"If that's it then this shouldn't be too hard," Sanji said as he eyed the Foxy Pirates and spun his ball on his finger.

"HERE THEY COME!" one of the Foxy Pirate called out in alarm. The fifty Foxy Pirates panicked and scattered around their field. Hamburg scooped up Foxy and ran off with him.

"Gr…" Zoro growled as he squeezed his ball between both hands.

"Hey! Take it easy!" a terrified Foxy Pirate called out. "We're still warmin' up here!"

**WOOSH! **Zoro wound his arm back and used his monstrous sword strength to shoot the ball like a cannon.** WHAM! **The ball hit the terrified Foxy Pirate so hard that he flew backwards and knocked the eight pirates behind him off the field along with him.

"Hmph," Sanji grunted as he dropped the ball then kicked it up in front of him with the side of his foot. **THWAK! **Sanji kicked the ball in midair and sent it rocketing across the field. **WHAM! **Another group of Foxy Pirates was blasted off the field.

"Eighteen members from Team Foxy are eliminated from getting knocked out of bounds," the referee nearest to Nami announced once he'd counted the 'casualties'.

"Way to go guys!" Nami exclaimed.

"_**WHAT A SHOW FROM THE STRAW HATS! THE CHEF AND THE SWORDSMAN BOTH BLEW NINE PLAYERS OFF OF THE FIELD. Ricky only got two."**_

"Yeah, but I dare you to name two pirate in the groups they knocked out," Ricky retorted. "Those guys were just fodder."

Sanji scowled as he looked over at Zoro, "Damn, I thought I'd get more than you."

"Hmph," Zoro scoffed.

"Yeah!" Usopp cheered, while actually doing a cheer that involved waving two paper fans.. "Knock 'em dead San-ji! Knock 'em dead Zo-ro!"

"Grr…" Chiqicheetah growled as he raced over to the fallen balls and skidded to a stop. **Whip! **Two arms grew out of the ground and picked up the balls before the cheetah man had a chance to grab them.

"Pardon me," Robin taunted from across the white line on her chair. Robin's two extra hands hurled the two balls back across the field to the Straw Hats.

**Whap! Whap! **Luffy and Chopper raised their hands and caught the balls.

"Wow!" Chopper gushed. He was still in his buff Arm Point form. "Do you think we can take out nine people too?"

"Nine? I'll do ten!" Luffy insisted.

"Ehh?" Chiqicheetah yelped and darted away from the corner and ducked some other pirates.

**SHUNK! **Luffy drove his feet down into the ground then shot the ball and his rubber arms back behind him. "GUUUUM… GUUUUUM… SLINGSHOT!" **SHOOOOM! **Luffy's head sank down like a turtle's as his rubber arms retracted and shot the ball off across the field. **WHAM! **The entire group of pirates that Chiqicheetah had hidden behind was knocked backwards off the field and took the cheetah-man out with them.

"Out of bounds!" a referee called out. "Ten members from Team Foxy are eliminated!"

"Aw yeah!" Luffy boasted as he pumped his arm. "That's a new record!"

"Keep it going guys," Ricky said, "That's thirty eliminations total. More than half of them."

"_**YET ANOTHER STRONG SHOWING FROM THE STRAW HATS! THEY'RE THINNING OUT THE COMPETITION BUT TEAM FOXY FINALLY HAS A BALL."**_

Hamburg carried Foxy over to ball that Luffy had thrown and scooped it up.

"Let's see how many I can knock out," Chopper resolved.

"Go on, Chopper! Even the score!" Usopp continued to cheer as he danced around their side of the field."Nine, ten, eleven or more!"

"Sure, you got it!" Chopper replied as he pulled back his big arm and let the ball fly. **WOOSH!**

**WHAM! **Ball struck a Foxy Pirate and knocked him back into a group behind him.

**WHUP! **But Hamburg spread his arms and caught all his flying crewmates. **SKUUSSSHHH… **Hamburg skidded backwards from the impact but managed to stop in front of the white line.

"_**OH! A LAST MINUTE CATCH FROM HAMBURG SAVES THE DAY! NOW TEAM FOXY HAS BOTH BALLS IN THEIR POSSESSION! COULD IT FINALLY BE TIME FOR A COMEBACK?"**_

"Pupupupupu," Hamburg laughed while Foxy hung off of his shoulder.

"Nice work as always Hamburg," Foxy praised his big right hand man. "Now why don't you pass those balls to Big Pan?"

"Roger, Boss!" Hamburg agreed. **WHING! **Hamburg hurled both balls clear over the Straw Hat team into the huge hands of the half-giant half-fishman Big Pan. **Whap!**

"Sheesheesheeshee!" Big Pan the Wotan laughed as he held both 'tiny' balls in one big hand.

"RIGHT! THIS IS IT!" Foxy exclaimed, "TAKE 'EM ALL OUT IN ONE SHOT!"

"Aaah!" the Foxy Pirates on the outside scattered as Big Pan pulled back his massive arm from the far side of the field behind the Straw Hats.

"WAAAH! NOT MEEE!" Usopp whimpered as he ran in circles around the other five. "Please not me!" He settled for ducking behind Luffy and Chopper who were at the back of the group by the mid circle.

"LOACH SHOOT!" The super strong Wotan swung his massive arm down and fired both balls at the Straw Hats. **SHOOOOOM! **

Zoro casually leaned to the left while Sanji casually leaned to the right and Ricky ducked to avoid the first ball.

Luffy grabbed his head and stretched it out of the way and Chopper shrank down into his tiny Brain Point form.

**WHAM! **The ball slammed into Usopp's chest and sent him flying across the field and blasted him through another big group of Foxy Pirates. **WHAM! **

"USOPP, NO!" Chopper cried out. A dust cloud was kicked when they hit the ground.

"_**WHAT HAPPENED? I CAN'T SEE!"**_

The dust cleared to reveal that Usopp and the large group of Foxy Pirates had been knocked out of bounds.

"Out of bounds!" Rokuroshi called out. "Mr. Long Nose and twenty-two members of Team Foxy are all eliminated!"

"There goes your record Luffy," Ricky remarked as he casually stood back up with his hands still in his pockets. "But I guess that since most of them are on his crew that's technically negative twenty-one."

Foxy gaped and stared wide-eyed at all the fallen members of his crew.

Nami ran over to Usopp and knelt down next to him, "That looked bad. Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Usopp groaned as he picked up the ball that had knocked him out of the game.. "It takes more than that to kill me. And look, I got the ball."

"_**BIG PAN'S DEVASTATING DODGEBALL SMASH ELIMINATED THE STRAW HATS' LONG-NOSED SNIPER BUT ALSO CAUSED A CRUSHING AMOUNG OF COLLATERAL DAMAGE TO HIS OWN TEAM. NOW FOXY AND HAMBURG ARE THE ONLY ONES LEFT ON THE FIELD! AT THIS POINT THE FOXY PIRATES MAY BE UNDONE BY THEIR OWN STRENGTH!"**_

"That's fifty-two down, two to go," Ricky recounted as he eyed the two remaining Foxy Pirates. Foxy was still hanging off of Hamburg's shoulder.

Zoro and Sanji were still standing on one side of their field while Luffy and Chopper were standing on the other side. Ricky was still standing in the same spot in the middle of their field.

"_**THE MATCH IS NOW TWO-TO-FIVE. WHAT'S NEXT? WHO WILL REIGN SUPREME?"**_

**-x-**

**Hit and Dead Ball:**

**-x-**

"…" Foxy stared silently at the five Straw Hat Pirates. Hamburg had finally put him down when they realized that they had their side of the field to themselves.

"Hey boss, what now?" Hamburg asked.

"What do you mean what now?" Foxy snapped. "I can't use my Slow Slow Beam as long as that Archeologist chick is here. So… there's only one choice left."

"You mean… you-know-what?" Hamburg inquired then let out a chuckle. "Pupupupupu!"

"You-know-what, indeed," Foxy replied and gave a laugh of his own, "Fehfehfehfehfeh!"

**Whip! **An arm suddenly bloomed out of Hamburg's shoulder and dropped a ball on his head. **KONK! **Foxy and Hamburg stared at the ball in surprise as it bounced away.

"_**WHAT A SURPRISE! HAMBURG IS OUT OF THE GAME TOO!"**_

"SHISHISHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed, "Good one, Robin!"

"Hamburg is safe!" one of the referees called out.

"You sure?" Robin questioned as she looked up from the rule book. "Article 54 states that while the face doesn't count, the top of the head is still fair game."

"If I were you, I'd start using my head before someone chops it off!" Rokuroshi scolded the other referee. "The girl is right. Hamburg is out."

"I'm sorry sir!" the mistaken referee apologized.

"_**THE STRAW HATS' ARCHEOLOGIST HAS MEMORIZED THE MASSIVE RULE BOOK IN ONLY MOMENTS BY FLEXING THE MIGHTY MUSCLES OF HER MIND."**_

"You really read all that?" Nami asked. "Awesome!"

"Thanks for the compliment," Robin said, "But I'm only about halfway through."

"Well, either way they've only got one left," Nami resolved as she picked up the ball Robin had used to eliminate Hamburg. "So let's finish him off quick." Nami tossed the ball to her crew.

**Whap! **Sanji smiled as he caught it. "You got it."

"**Heeeey, Saaaanjiiiii!" **Porche, the girls from the Harem Nocturne and a few other sexy female Foxy Pirates all called out to the cook.

Sanji stopped mid-throw and seamlessly switched into Love-Cook mode. "Yes ladies?"

"Please don't hit our, Boss!" Porche and the sexy Foxy Pirates pleaded.

"Just give that ball to me, okay?" Porche requested as she held out her hand.

The hearts in Sanji's eyes faded as he stared at Porche and took in her long bandaged nose and her black eye. "Tragic. To mar your face is to destroy a lovely piece of art."

"SANJI!" Nami shouted. "GET AWAY FROM HER OR I'LL DECK HER AGAIN!"

"YOU'RE SO CRUEL!" Porche shrieked then burst out in tears. "YOU RUINED MY FACE!" The Idol broke down and Nami suddenly found herself as the target of a hundred harsh glares.

"_**THAT'S RIGHT FOXY CREW, THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR RUINING OUR IDOL PORCHE'S BEAUTIFUL FACE IS NONE OTHER THAN THAT HORRID SHREW OF A NAVIGATOR, NAMI!"**_

"I'd throw something but the referee would eliminate me for attacking an official," Ricky stated.

Porche had dropped to her knees and was openly crying. Sanji had seen all he could take.

"Hold this," Sanji said as he handed his ball off to one of the sexy Foxy Pirates next to Porche then dropped down to his knees in front of her. The cook gently cupped Porche's chin and tilted her face up so she was looking at him. "Your face may be damaged but that will never take away from your stunning inner beauty. You're a confident, intelligence and resourceful woman that's idolized and revered by her crew. You're the heart of your crew and you can't afford to be—" **BONK! **The sexy Foxy Pirate that Sanji had handed his ball to hit him over the head with it. Sanji dropped onto his back. "…broken…"

"_**OOH! LOVE-HUNTER SANJI HAS BEEN BLISSFULLY BLUDGEONED AND ENDEARINGLY ELIMINATED FROM THE GAME."**_

Usopp came over and dragged Sanji off the field.

"_**NOW HE'LL BE JOINING HIS LONG NOSED COMPANION ON THE SIDE LINES."**_

"Bye… Sanji…" a blushing Porche called after the fallen cook.

"Ugh, you make me sick," Zoro complained.

"He didn't stand a chance," Ricky muttered.

"We should've seen that coming," Robin admitted.

"On the up-side," Nami said, "Their boss is still the only one left."

"We can't celebrate yet," Robin informed her. "You never know what might happen until the very end."

"Fehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed, "Yes. Good point!" A large shadow fell over Foxy. A huge yellow tank-like cannon with eyes above the barrel to give it a face rolled onto his side of the field.

"_**THERE IT IS! HIT AND DEAD BALL'S TOP SECRET WEAPON FINALLY MAKES AN APPEARANCE!"**_

"SAY 'HELLO' TO THE MR. ACCUCANNON!" Foxy shouted. "FEHFEHFEHFEH!"

Usopp ran over to Rokuroshi and protested, "Hey, ref, are you really gonna allow this!? That thing has to be against the rules!"

"So _that's_ Mr. Accucannon?" Robin asked.

Usopp turned to stare at her in surprise, "Wait… why are you acting like you know all about this doohickey? Did I miss something?"

"I read across an article about it in the rule book," Robin told him, "But I hadn't actually seen the device until now."

"Rule Number 322," Rokuroshi stated. "The only weapon allowed is Mr. Accucannon."

"Why would you make a rule just for that dumb thing?" Usopp complained.

"I don't know, it seems pretty awesome to me!" Luffy insisted.

"Please," Ricky scoffed, "The only people that use Mr. Accucannon are sissies who can't throw. I guess that's why Foxy's using it."

"He… he called me a sissy…" Foxy moped as he sat in the cockpit of his tank/cannon.

"What's the point?" Zoro wondered. "I don't care how big his Mr. Whatever-cannon is. He's still gonna lose."

"I WOULDN'T BE SO SURE!" Foxy retorted. "Hey Porche, you ready to finish dem off?"

"I'm ready, Boss!" Porche called out as she got up and pulled out her baton. "Don't blink!" Porche twirled her gold baton and a familiar bouquet of flowers bloomed out from the end. "FLOWER HYPNOSIS!"

"Not again!" Usopp yelped.

"CLOSE YOUR EYES YOU IDIOTS!" Nami yelled from the sidelines as the purple hypno-beam flew at the Straw Hats. Seven eyes immediately snapped closed. And the purple beam harmlessly washed over them.

"Can't you play without dirty tricks for once?" Zoro muttered.

"LET'S SEE YOU DODGE WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED!" Foxy taunted as he used the targeting system on his high-tech tank-cannon and aimed at Zoro. "IT'S LIKE SHOOTING FISH IN A BARREL!" **BOOOOM! **This time the ball really was blasted out of a cannon as it whizzed across the field towards Zoro.

"_I don't have to see," _Zoro thought to himself. _"I can feel." _Zoro lashed out and swung his arm down at the approaching ball. **SLISH! **The ball was cut cleanly in half by Zoro's bare hand.

Zoro slowly opened his eyes, "Even without my swords, I'm still a swordsman."

"_**WHOA! WHAT POWER! THE SWORDSLESS SWORDSMAN NOT ONLY SLICED THE BALL IN HALF WITH HIS BARE HAND. BUT HE DID IT WITH HIS EYES CLOSED!" **_The Foxy Pirates actually cheered at Zoro's amazing skill.

Ricky frowned as he finally opened his eye. "What did I say about not damaging the ball?"

"Huh?" Zoro grunted.

"Zoro of Team Straw Hat is out!" Rokuroshi announced. "Rule Number 645: Even with hands, no slicing the ball. The rules also state that Foxy gets a new ball."

"WHAT?" Usopp shrieked in protest.

One of the referees tossed a new ball to Foxy, "Oh well, better luck next time!"

"Grrrr…" Zoro growled in annoyance.

"_**WHAT A SHAME! IT WAS AN IMPRESSIVE MOVE FROM ZORO BUT THE RULES ARE THE RULES."**_

"You okay?" Chopper asked as Zoro trudged passed.

"…" Zoro didn't bother answering.

"I don't think he's taking this too well," Chopper remarked.

Sanji smirked from the sidelines as he lit up a cigarette, "Hey there buddy," he taunted Zoro.

"Whatever you've got to say I don't wanna hear it," Zoro cut off whatever insult Sanji was going to throw his way. "Especially after that stunt you just pulled."

Luffy and Chopper were caught up in watching Zoro make his way off the field so they didn't notice when Foxy tossed the ball he'd just received from the referee to a Foxy Pirate behind him then loaded a different ball into his Mr. Accucannon.

"_**WHOA! THE MATCH IS NOW THREE-TO-ONE! AND MR. ACCUCANNON IS READY TO GO!"**_

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed, "Time to pick up where I left off."

"Oh yeah?" Luffy retorted as he and Chopper joined Ricky in the middle of their field. "Then let's see what you've got!"

Chopper pulled out another Rumble Ball and went to eat it when Ricky stopped him. "Chopper, is it safe for you to eat two of those in such a short span of time?"

Chopper blinked. "Gah! I forgot! I almost overdosed!" Chopper put the extra Rumble Ball away.

"LET'S SEE HOW YOU HANDLE THE ULTRA-FAST LEVEL FIVE!" Foxy called out as he grabbed the gear shift on his console that controlled Mr. Accucannon's firing speed and pulled it down from 1 all the way to 5. "LET'S SEE YOU DODGE THIS, YOU BRATS!" **KA-BOOM! **A ball fired out from the cannons barrel and flew at Luffy, Ricky and Chopper.

"We won't need to dodge it," Ricky stated. "That isn't a real ball."

"YOU'RE RIGHT!" Foxy agreed, "IT ISN'T!"

**SHUNK! **Spikes shot out from the lumps on the ball. **WHUMP! **Ricky lashed out and shoved Luffy and Chopper away from him. **SLA-SLISH! **The bladed ball cleaved into Ricky's chest and blasted him backwards. **THUD! **Ricky landed on his back inside the line.

"RICKY!" Luffy yelled.

"BIG BROTHER!" Chopper shrieked.

Nami ran over to Usopp and Sanji on the sidelines, "Is he... okay?"

"I think that spike ball reopened his hamburger injuries," Usopp noted. "There's a lot of blood."

"He should've been able to dodge that," Sanji stated. "He got hit on purpose."

"Ugghh…" Ricky groaned as he sat up. "You gonna call that, ref?"

"The rule book states that players can use as many fake balls as they like," Rokuroshi replied.

"But this isn't _just_ a fake ball," Ricky pointed out, "This is fake ball with spikes. That makes it a weapon. Rule 322: the only weapon allowed is Mr. Accucannon."

"Also," Robin added, "Rule 323 states that Mr. Accucannon can only be used to fire game balls."

Rokuroshi blinked. "Right, as a result of violating Rules 322 and 323, Foxy of Team Foxy is now barred from using Mr. Accucannon."

"_**OH NO! IT LOOKS LIKE FOXY HAS BEEN OUT-FOXED BY THE COMBINED WITS OF STRAW HATS RICKY AND NICO ROBIN!"**_

"HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO REMEMBER ALL THOSE RULES?" Foxy protested as he reluctantly got out of his tank-cannon. Pickles came over and dragged the cannon off the field.

Ricky flashed a sly grin at Foxy, "Now you don't have a cannon to hide behind."

Nami smiled, "Yeah... that's our fox."

Chopper ran over to Ricky and prodded his injuries while Luffy stepped in front of them.

"Now you've lost your toy!" Luffy taunted as he held up the ball he'd been holding ever since Big Pan had thrown it.

"Oh yeah?" Foxy retorted. "I don't need Mr. Accucanon! My crew's awesome! GO PICKLES!"

**SWISH-SWISH-SWISH! **The forty foot tall **'**Tackle Machine' Pickles spun in place behind Foxy then launched the ball at Luffy.

**SKISH! **Luffy jumped up into the air and avoided the incoming ball. **WOOSH!** The ball flew over Ricky and Chopper then went off the court. **WHAM! **The ball slammed into Mashikaku's big belly. **WOING! **The human wall was knocked over from the impact but the ball was bounced back.

Chopper looked up at the incoming ball then down at Ricky who was still bleeding on the ground. There was really only one thing he could do. **SKISH! **Chopper jumped over Ricky. **WHAM! **The ball slammed into Chopper. Luffy spun around in time to catch the flying reindeer but Chopper's pink top hat went flying. **WHAP!**

"NO! CHOPPY!" Porche cried out in horror.

"_**OH! THE DOCTOR MAKES A NOBLE SACRIFICE FOR HIS… brother? BUT IS THIS THE END FOR HIM?"**_

"It… hit me… in the face…" Chopper mumbled. "Those don't count… right?"

"He's so brave!" one of the Foxy Pirates gushed.

"Hey ref!" another Foxy Pirate called out. "Can't you see a pirate's honor is at stake here? That was his face!"

"Yeah! That's right!" the first Foxy Pirate chimed in. "Any real man knows to show some respect when a pirate takes one for the team!"

The Foxy Pirates were once again moved by the Straw Hats' noble nature and dedication to each other and started chanting, "HIT THE FACE! HIT THE FACE! HIT THE FACE!"

"What the…" one of the referees sputtered in surprise.

"HIT THE FACE! HIT THE FACE! HIT THE FACE!"

"If a pirate's honor is at stake then the choice is obvious, isn't it," Rokuroshi decided. "The ball hit him in the face! Blows to the face do not count!"

"YEEEAAAAAH!" the Foxy Pirates cheered.

"YEAH CHOPPY!" Porche cheered as Luffy put the hat-less reindeer down.

"Way to take it like a man, little brother," Ricky praised the reindeer.

"I… yeah… I'm a man!" Chopper mumbled as he staggered over to Ricky.

**Whup! **No one noticed Capote when he scooped up the fallen ball after it rolled off the field. **SKISH! **The swordfish fishman swung his arm down and threw the ball.

**KONK! **The ball struck Ricky on top of the head then bounced off and hit Chopper's head. **BONK! **Everyone stared in surprise as the ball hit the ground in between then,

"Ricky and Chopper from Team Straw Hat are out!" Rokuroshi announced.

"_**I DON'T BELIEVE IT! WHAT A TRAGEDY! EVEN AFTER THAT BROTHER-SAVING FACE BLOCK, HE'S STILL OUT!" **_Itomimizu paused to wipe tears out of his eyes._** "THE BRAVE LITTLE DOCTOR WILL SURELY BE MISSED BY ALL. EVEN SO, HE WILL BE REMEMBERED AS A TRUE MAN OF THE SEA! Oh, and Ricky's out too."**_

"YEAH!" Capote raised his arms and cheered. "I got two in one shot!"

"Nice job, Capote!" Foxy praised the fishman.

"Well that sucks…" Ricky remarked as he stood back up. He looked over at Capote and shook his head, "I didn't even notice that guy."

"Sorry Luffy…" Chopper said as he looked up at the Captain, "I guess we're out of the game."

Luffy picked up Chopper's hat and put it back on the reindeer's head then grinned at them. "Don't worry," Luffy reassured them. "Leave the rest to me."

"Good luck," Ricky replied as he and Chopper walked off of the field. "Chopper… I need a doctor again…"

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed, "And now it's just you and me, Straw Hat! If I was you, I'd just give up now!"

"Why would I give up when you're the one that's gonna lose?" Luffy retorted.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that!" Foxy told him, "Why don't you take a good look around before you start spouting nonsense!"

"Hm?" Luffy said as he looked back over his shoulder to see that every Foxy Pirate that was standing on the sidelines was now holding a ball.

"_**IT'S THE OMNIDIRECTIONAL SHIFT! THERE'S NO ESCAPE NOW!"**_

"And they're allowed to use as many fake balls as they want," Sanji grumbled.

"DON'T PAY ANY ATTENTION TO THOSE BALLS LUFFY!" Nami called out. "YOU'VE GOT BOTH BALLS ON YOUR SIDE!"

Luffy looked down at the ball in his hand and then at the other ball that was still on the ground from when it had eliminated Ricky and Chopper.

"GAH!" Foxy squeaked in surprise.

"This guy's not just a split-head, he's got a split-brain," Usopp remarked.

Foxy hung his head and moped, "Not just split-head… but split-brain too…"

"NOW TAKE THIS!" Luffy shouted as he stretched his arm out behind him. **WOING!**

"WAAAH! NOOO!" Foxy screamed in terror.

**WHAP! **Porche plucked Luffy's ball out of his extended hand. "Why thank you!"

**SHOOOOM! **Luffy shot his hand forward at Foxy.

"MOMMY!" Foxy shrieked and covered his face.

**WHISH! **Luffy's empty hand stopped short of Foxy's face.

Foxy opened his eyes and blinked in surprise.

"Hwah?" Luffy goggled as he stared at his empty hand.

"Oh my, where'd this come from?" Porche taunted. Luffy turned to see Porche with his ball.

"You just had to make her feel better about herself, didn't you?" Nami complained to Sanji.

"HEY! GIMME THAT BACK!" Luffy shouted at her.

"Sure, if you can find it again," Porche replied as she slipped the ball behind her back. "ALRIGHT EVERYBODY! LEEET'S SHUFFLE!"

The Foxy Pirates started to chant as they passed they cycled the real ball and all their fake balls around the field behind their backs. "SHUFFLE TIME! SHUFFLE TIME! SHUFFLE TIME! SHUFFLE TIME! SHUFFLE TIME!"

"This is bad!" Nami realized. "If he can't tell which ones are real and which one is the fake then he won't be able to dodge!"

"SHUFFLE TIME! SHUFFLE TIME! SHUFFLE TIME! SHUFFLE TIME! SHUFFLE TIME!"

"FEHFEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed as his crew finished shuffling the balls around the field. "Alright, Mr. Smart-guy, do you know which ball is real now? You'd better figure it out fast before they hit you!"

"SHUT UP!" Luffy snapped at him. "I'll just catch all the balls! Then it won't matter!"

"DON'T YOU GET SNARKY WITH ME, BOY!" Foxy scolded him. "Just sit back and accept your defeat with grace! NOW! LET THOSE BALLS FLY!"

**WHING! WHING! WHING! WHING! WHING! **Over fifty balls flew at Luffy from behind and both sides. He quickly spun around to face the incoming barrage.

**Whap-whap-whap-whap-whap! **Luffy shot his rubber arm out and snagged the balls out of the air and quickly tucked them under his other arm. **Whap-whap-whap-whap-whap-whap-whap! **Luffy's arm stretched as it strained to hold all the balls that he'd caught.

"Fehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed as Luffy faced away from him to catch the bombardment of balls from his huge crew, "Nice try, but you're finished! NOW PICKLES!"

**SWISH-SWISH-SWISH! **Pickles spun around and hurled a final ball at Luffy. **WOOOSH!**

"LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!" Usopp shouted.

Luffy twisted his head around after catching all the other balls to see the final ball flying at him. But his arms were full, there was no way for him to catch this one.

"LUFFY, DON'T DODGE!" Nami yelled. "LET IT HIT YOUR FACE!"

"Easy for you to say!" Zoro snapped.

**WHOMP! **Luffy took the ball right to the mouth. "MMPH!" **WOING! **Luffy's straw hat fell off his head as his neck stretched back from the impact of the ball.

"ALRIGHT!" Usopp exclaimed.

"YEAH, LUFFY!" Chopper cheered as he finished changing the bandages on Ricky's chest.

"Mmmm mmmffmmmm…" Luffy mumbled around the ball that was now lodged in his mouth.

"LUFFY!" Ricky shouted. "DON'T YOU DARE EAT THAT!"

**GULP! **Too late. Luffy had no hands free to pull the ball out of his mouth so he got rid of it the only way he could… by swallowing it.

"Straw Hat Luffy… you're out!" Rokuroshi announced.

"WHY?" Usopp snapped at him. "IT DOESN'T COUNT IF YOU GET HIT IN THE FACE!"

"Rule 999," the Head Referee replied, "Ingesting any part of the ball results in instant disqualification. Check the rule book yourself if you don't believe me."

"Unfortunately, he's correct," Robin confessed as she finally reached the back cover of the book. "It's on the very last page."

"WHAT?" Usopp hissed, "WHY DOES THAT RULE EVEN EXIST?"

Ricky shook his head, "Because the last time I played this game with the Whitebeard Pirates, Blackbastard Teach fell asleep in the middle of the game and got pegged in the mouth while he was yawning. He ended up swallowing the ball. Pops petitioned that eating the ball should be illegal so that rule was officially added just last year to account for him."

The Straw Hats all paled and Chopper spoke up, "Wait… does that mean…"

"YEEAAAHHH!" the Foxy Pirates let out a loud cheer.

"_**IT'S OVER! LUFFY HAS EATEN HIS WAY TO DEFEAT AS TEAM FOXY WINS THE FIRST ROUND!"**_

"NOT AGAIN!" Nami shrieked.

**BLOOOM! BLOOOM! BLOOOM! **Fireworks exploded and confetti was fired as Foxy and his crew celebrated another victory.

"_**THE FOXY PIRATES HAVE CLAIMED VICTORY IN ROUND 1 OF THE REMATCH OF THE DAVY BACK FIGHT! IT'S TIME FOR THE BOSS TO CLAIM HIS PRIZE! WHICH MEMBER OF THE STRAW HAT CREW WILL HE CHOOSE?"**_

"FEHFEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy let out a shrill laugh. "I've known which one I wanted this time from the very start!" Foxy raised his hand and pointed at the Straw Hat Pirates. "YOU! THE TREASURE HUNTER AND FIRST MATE 'ONE EYE' RICKY!"

"Ah!" Usopp, Sanji and Robin gasped.

"Ricky!" Luffy and Chopper yelped.

"The hell?" Zoro growled.

"WHAT!?" Nami yelped.

"Oh balls," Ricky groaned.

"All part of my master plan!" Foxy boasted. "That's what you get for makin' me lose that first Davy Back Fight! Now the only one I ever lost a Davy Back Fight to is a member of my crew! Fehfehfehfehfeh! My perfect record is intact once again!"

"Let's get this over with," Ricky muttered as he left his Nakama and pulled on a Foxy mask. The fact that his visible hazel eye was already slanted and fox-like was accentuated by the fox mask.

"And that's not all!" Foxy added, "You're going to be competing in the next round."

"What? But I just joined your crew," Ricky the newest Foxy Pirate pointed out. "Roster changes are against the rules."

"Read it and weep!" Foxy exclaimed as he pulled out his crew's roster. "You were on our roster from the start!"

"Well I'll be damned," Ricky remarked as he read his own name in the seventh slot for Round 2.

"YOU'RE GONNA WIN THE NEXT ROUND FOR ME!" Foxy exclaimed. "FEHFEHFEH!"

**-x-**

Next chapter, the Straw Hats find themselves racing Ricky as they try to win him back.

Sorry for the cliff-hanger. See you next week for the Red Light, Green Light game Dash Touch Domination.

'Till Next Time…

Peace!


	6. Racing Ricky

**Another Nakama IV**

**Disclaimer:** The following is a non-profit fanfic. One Piece and all the related characters are owned by Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV, Shueisha, Shonnan Jump Manga and Eiichiro Oda. QPython only owns the original characters that he created for this story.

**Racing Ricky:**

**-x-**

"They took Ricky!" Luffy blurted out. "Why would they do that?"

"Obviously they think he poses the biggest threat," Robin reasoned. "He's the only one of us that's actually been in a Davy Back Fight before. He knows all the rules and has the best record out of all of us in these Davy Back Fight games. By picking him they took one of our most valuable assets."

"Alright!" Luffy exclaimed. "Then I'll win him back! Lemme at 'em! I'll kick their asses!"

"I'm afraid you can't do that Captain," Robin told him, "You're not in the next round."

"Geez, would you learn the rules already?" Usopp complained.

"Then it comes down to the rest of us to win Ricky back," Zoro realized.

"Nami… what do we do?" Chopper asked.

The navigator crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. "I don't care. Win him back. Or don't. It doesn't matter to me."

"You LIAR!" Usopp of all people snapped at her. "You might be mad at him now but are you really gonna let that erase all the good memories you have of him? He means the world to you. And you mean the world to him. If you don't try your hardest to win him back along with the rest of us you'll always regret it."

"_RICKY!" Nami exclaimed as Ricky staggered away from the burning remains of Arlong Park. His body was covered in burns and blood. The most prominent source was the bite mark on his shoulder. Ricky's red eye glowed as he pulled his eye patch off of Nami's neck and put it on._

_Ricky's eye watered and he grimaced in pain. "You're welcome," he said simply. Nami reacted quickly and caught him before he fainted. Her Ricky had destroyed Arlong Park and freed her from Arlong._

Nami's eyes narrowed. "They can't have him…he's mine."

"**Not anymore!" **Nami looked up to see that Porche had dragged Ricky over to them so she could gloat. Nami's eyes lingered on where the Foxy's Idol's arm was linked with Ricky's.

"I came to get my sword," Ricky stated. "Weapons are legal in the next race." Zoro nodded and headed for the Going Merry.

"That's not all!" Porche added. "We also came to tell you the good news! Thanks to the boss' great planning and brilliant strategy. Your _former _crewmate is going to help me win my sweet, adorable Choppy back!"

"What? You can't do that!" Chopper protested. "Can you?"

"Sure we can," Porche boasted. "Captain Foxy knew we'd win the first round and he planned on picking this guy from the start so he made him part of our team for the second round."

"Foxy made a big gamble and it paid off," Ricky stated. "I can respect that and now I'm obligated to serve my new Captain to the best of my ability. Although, I can't help but wonder what would have happened if we had won that dodgeball game."

"Don't worry Ricky," Sanji assured him. "We'll win you back."

"You can try," Ricky said, "But I'm honor bound to resist you every step of the way. I'd also like to point out what happens if you lose this game…"

"What do you mean?" Usopp asked. "If we lose… they'll take Chopper again, right?"

"That's right!" Porche happily informed them. The reindeer stiffened.

"But that's not all," Ricky added. "There's two games left in this Davy Back Fight. If I win this one with the Foxy Pirates, Captain Foxy is going to pick Chopper again. And then even if Luffy beats Foxy in the Captain's Fight, he'll only be able to pick one of us to bring back because after that the Davy Back Fight will be over. If you lose this game, you'll lose a crew member _permanently_."

"Per-permanently…" Chopper stammered, "Y-you mean… for… forever?" Ricky nodded.

"Hey! You're not supposed to tell them that!" Porche protested.

"I'm adding more pressure to their already dire situation," Ricky stated. "Now they know what's at stake if they lose."

Zoro came back and threw Ricky his sword, "Good thing we don't plan on losing."

Ricky nodded his thanks. "Good luck then. You'll probably need it."

"Nnnnyaa!" Porche pulled her eyelid down and stuck her tongue out at Nami as she hugged Ricky's arm to her chest.

"Get… your hands… off of him!" Nami hissed through gritted teeth.

"Aww… do you miss your little boyfriend already?" Porche taunted the woman that had broken her nose. "Too bad! He's on _my crew_ now. Oh, I know! If he wins Choppy back for us maybe _I'll _date him."

"You BITCH!" Nami howled as she launched herself at Porche but promptly tripped when a pair of arms grew out of the ground and grabbed her ankles. **Fwump! **Usopp and Chopper jumped on top of Nami and pinned the furious navigator down to the ground. "LEMME AT HER! I'LL GIVE HER ANOTHER BLACK EYE TO MATCH THE FIRST ONE!"

"Heeheeheehee!" Porche laughed mockingly at Nami, "See you out there!" She turned and dragged Ricky back to the Foxy Pirates.

"I understand that we did that to mess with them," Ricky stated as he pulled his arm free from Porche's, "But for the record, I'm not dating anyone right now."

"Like I'd want to date you anyway!" Porche scoffed. "The only reason I'd go anywhere with you is so I can rub you in that crude clod's face! As long as I have you, she doesn't. Choppy's the only member of your crew that I want and you're under orders to get him back."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Ricky said, "But how do you expect me to do that when the boss blasted me with a spiked cannonball last round? I'm still recovering from the Groggy Ring Match."

"HAMBURG! GET THE MED UNIT OVER HERE!" Porche called out.

Hamburg and two skinny doctors in Foxy masks ran over. Before Ricky could protest they each pulled out a needle and jabbed it in Ricky's side. **Slik! **They pushed down on the plungers and Ricky felt himself get injected with whatever was in the needles.

"What was that?" Ricky questioned.

Hamburg lashed out and punched Ricky in the stomach. **POW! **Ricky doubled over from the impact but once Hamburg withdrew his fist he stood up straight again.

"I… didn't even feel that…" Ricky noted.

"Pupupupu!" Hamburg covered his mouth and chuckled. "That's what painkillers are for."

"Oh, so that's how you recovered so quickly," Ricky realized. "You guys use performance enhancing drugs, somehow that doesn't surprise me."

"Get to the track, Foxy Pirates!" Foxy ordered.

"Yes boss," Ricky, Porche and Hamburg all chorused.

Foxy smirked as he looked over at the Straw Hats, _"That's right Straw Hats. What are you going to do now that your biggest offensive weapon is working for me? This race is in the bag! Fehfehfehfehfeh!"_

**-x-**

Luffy and Foxy stood on a cliff at the edge of Long Ring Long Land and stared at the track. The Foxy Pirates and Shelly were gathered behind them.

The Long Reef that stuck out of the water off the edge of the island was serving as the course. The Long Reef had two long paths that eventually met and became one at the base of a rocky mountain. The new path wound side-to-side up the mountain to an open flat patch at the top.

"_**ROUND TWO WILL BE HELD ON THE LONG REEF!" **_Itomimizu announced as he flew over the course on Chirp Chirp. _**"THE GAME WILL BE DASH, TOUCH, DOMINATION OR AS THE KIDS CALL IT: RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT. BUT THIS IS NO KID'S GAME! WHENEVER PIRATES PLAY DASH TOUCH DOMINATION THEY PLAY HARD AND THEY PLAY TO WIN!"**_

"…" Tonjit sat silently behind the loud-mouthed announcer on Chirp Chirp.

"_**THE RULES ARE SIMPLE, WHOEVER MOVES EVEN JUST A LITTLE BIT AFTER THE LIGHT CALLS OUT 'RED LIGHT' IS OUT. WHICHEVER TEAM TOUCHES THE STOPLIGHT AT THE TOP OF THE REEF FIRST WILL BE DECLARED THE WINNER. THE USE OF WEAPONS IS APPROVED AND ENCOURAGED! THAT'S WHAT MAKES DASH TOUCH DOMINATION A TRULY PERILOUS GAME!"**_

Itomimizu looked down at Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper and Robin as they stood together at the end of their path.

"_**PLAYING FOR THE STRAW HAT TEAM… is the same boring line up as always."**_

"SHUT IT, JERK!" All the Straw Hats but Robin snapped back at the announcer.

"_**LEADING TEAM FOXY IS OUR BELOVED IDOL PORCHE AND THE BEASTLY ODDITY HAMBURG."**_

"Soon I will have little Choppy back in my hands!" Porche resolved.

"Pupupupupu!" Hamburg laughed.

"_**THE REST OF THE TEAM CONSISTS OF THE EVER-SWIFT CHIQICHEETAH, THE FEARSOME FISHMAN CAPOTE, TACKLE MACHINE PICKLES AND BIG PAN THE WOTAN!"**_

"We're gonna make those Straw Hats pay for humiliating us in the Groggy Ring," Pickles growled.

"Sheesheeshee!" Big Pan laughed.

"_**AND THE FINAL MEMBER OF TEAM FOXY IS OUR NEWEST RECRUIT… THE FORMER STRAW HAT… ONE EYE RICKY!"**_

"This is so non-canon it almost hurts," Ricky remarked as he eyed the massive track while he stood in between Capote and Chiqicheetah.

"What was that?" Capote asked.

"You did an entire lap around the island during the Donut Race, right?" Ricky reminded the Swordfish Fishman. "And I was flying over you the whole time. But I don't remember ever seeing this reef during that race. Do you?"

Capote's eyes widened, "Whoa… you're blowin' my mind, man!"

"_**THESE SEVEN COMPETITORS WILL MAKE TEAM FOXY A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. MEANWHILE, DUE TO THEIR FORMER FIRST MATE PLAYING FOR THE OTHER TEAM…"**_

"Was that a gay joke?" Ricky asked as he reached down for his sword.

"_**THE STRAW HATS WILL BE A MAN DOWN WITH A TEAM OF ONLY SIX PEOPLE." **_

"Hey, why is the old stilts guy riding on that bird with him?" Luffy asked Shelly as he sat down next to the horse.

"_**AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE ROLE OF OUR STOPLIGHT WILL BE PLAYED BY NONE OTHER THAN THE NOMAD HIMSELF, TONJIT. THIS GREAT FOOL-I MEAN-MAN OF BRAVERY STOOD ON A PAIR OF STILTS FOR TEN YEARS. THIS MAKES HIM THE LOGICAL CHOICE TO HAVE STAND AT THE TOP OF THE REEF AND BE 'IT'."**_

"I'm seriously sick and tired of high places though," Tonjit admitted as he rubbed his nose.

The Straw Hats watched as Chirp Chirp landed on the flat space on top of the mountain and let Tonjit off.

"Hey, if the old man is the stoplight that'll give us an advantage in this game," Usopp realized.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Sanji said.

"Usopp's right you guys," Chopper chimed in, "They've got Ricky but this could be the lucky break that we need."

"He should at least be a fair official," Robin stated as Itomimizu flew off and left Tonjit alone at the end of the track on the top of the reef.

"Are you sure about this, boss?" a Foxy Pirate asked Foxy up on the cliff that overlooked the Long Reef.

"Come on, this is nothing!" Foxy replied, "If our crew is strong enough to battle the treacherous wide open sea then this is child's play. Don't sweat the small stuff. Fehfehfehefehefehefeh!"

"You said it boss!" a Foxy Pirate exclaimed.

"Yeah!" another cheered. "Our Captain's the greatest!"

"Child's play, huh…" Nami growled. "THEN WHY DID YOU GIVE US THIS JACKED UP COURSE GIVING YOU THE UNFAIR ADVANTAGE FROM THE START?"

While two teams each had to race along a long path that led to the base of the mountain, the two paths were definitely not the same. The Foxy Pirates' path was a straight, flat track that led right to the mountain. The Straw Hats Pirates' path was jagged, uneven and weaved back and forth making it much longer.

"I guess using that Dodo Beam really is his only talent," Sanji grumbled.

"Stupid fox," Chopper complained.

"Split-head," Usopp muttered.

"GAH!" Foxy gasped as tears welled up in his eyes, "Dodo Beam? Stupid fox? Split-head?" Foxy dropped to his knees and moped while his crew tried to cheer him up.

Ricky shook his head and glanced at the rest of his team, "Any of you guys ever stop and think 'wow, that guy's my captain'?"

Capote nodded. Chiqicheetah opened his mouth to speak but Porche cut him off, "Of course not! Foxy's the smartest, bravest and best Captain ever! The sooner you learn that the better!"

"_**TO KICK OFF THIS EVENT AS THE D.T.D. RULES STATE BOTH TEAMS MUST START BY CALLING OUT THE FIRST STEP."**_

"Taking the first step… now!" All thirteen racers chorused.

But while the Straw Hats had all taken a normal step forward, the Foxy Pirates had all been picked up by Pickles and Big Pan who each took a giant twenty-foot step forward. The only Foxy Pirate that the Groggy Monsters hadn't carried forward was Ricky who was still even with the other Straw Hats

"_**SO IT BEGINS! AND TEAM FOXY IS ALREADY OFF TO AN EARLY LEAD!"**_

"It's because of those huge freaks," Sanji growled.

"Hey, Ricky stayed behind!" Chopper pointed out. "Does that mean he'll play fair and won't cheat like the rest of them?"

"If we follow the boss' plan, this'll be easy!" Porche gushed. But then she looked back and saw Ricky behind them. "HEY! WHY AREN'T YOU FOLLOWING THE BOSS' PLAN?"

"There's more to this thing than just being the first one to touch the stoplight," Nami warned the others. "This twisted terrain makes it easy to lose your balance when coming to a sudden stop. So that'll be the most likely time for the enemy to attack."

"HEY! SPLIT-HEAD!" Luffy threatened at Foxy. "If you screw around with this race, I'm gonna have something to say about it!"

"Split-head…" Foxy repeated glumly then turned and shouted at Luffy, "HAH! LIKE I'D EVEN NEED TO INTERFERE! WE CAN WIN THIS RACE IN OUR SLEEP, STRAW HAT!"

"_**STOPLIGHT, ARE YOU READY TO BEGIN?"**_

"Uh-huh," Tonjit confirmed.

"_**THEN TAKE YOUR POSITION."**_

Tonjit turned and buried his face against a large rock that was on top of the reef with him.

"YEAH!" Luffy and the Foxy Pirates cheered for the start of the race.

"_**SO TO RECAP! TEAM FOXY CLAIMED THE VICTORY IN THE LAST ROUND. LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN ROUND TWO D.T.D.! REEEAAADYYY… GOOO!"**_

"**Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen…"** Tonjit the stoplight started to call out 'Green Light'.

Chiqicheetah morphed into his full cheetah form and raced off along the path. Porche climbed onto Hamburg's back and the gorilla-man bounded after the cheetah on all fours. Capote, Pickles and Big Pan ran after them. But that left one Foxy Pirate unaccounted for.

**SWISH! **Ricky spun and slashed his red sword, "Red Storm… LIGHTNING STRIKE!" **WOOOSH! **A red air blade flew off of Ricky's sword towards the Straw Hats. It flew in between Zoro and Sanji and whizzed right over Chopper's top hat.

"Uuggh!" Robin groaned as Ricky's attack slammed into her chest. She was knocked backwards off of the track and dropped into the water. **SPLOOSH! **The Devil Fruit User promptly sank like a rock.

"ROBIN!" Nami, Usopp, Sanji and Chopper all shrieked in alarm while Ricky turned and raced after his team. **ZZZOOOM!**

"Damn it!" Zoro spat as he charged down his path after the Foxy Pirates.

"RICKY! YOU JERK!" Luffy shouted from up on the cliff.

**SPLASH! **Nami turned and dove into the water after Robin.

"What was that, hot-shot?" Porche demanded when Ricky caught up with the rest of his team.

"Her Devil Fruit Powers are pain," Ricky reminded her. "I stopped her from using them."

"_**WOW! AFTER SOME QUICK THINKING FROM OUR NEWEST RECRUIT, THE STRAW HATS ARE LEFT BEHIND AND THE ENTIRE FOXY TEAM TAKES A HUGE LEAD!"**_

"Woo! Way to go One Eye!" a Foxy Pirate cheered. "It's great having _him _on our team!"

"You shut your mouth!" Luffy warned him. "Ricky won't be on your team for long!"

"_**THE ONLY STRAW HAT THAT'S EVEN CLOSE TO TEAM FOXY IS THE SWORDSMAN ZORO."**_

"Can't… lose…" Zoro grunted as he sprinted down the path as fast as he could.

**Sploosh! **Nami and Robin broke the surface behind the track and Nami swam them over to it.

"I guess this means Mr. One Eye won't be taking it easy on us," Robin realized.

"It's Ricky," Nami pointed out. "His pirate honor is on the line. Did you really expect him to?"

Sanji leaned in and pulled Robin and Nami out of the water and back onto the course.

"Sanji, what're you still doing here?" Nami demanded. "You're the fastest one on our team! If anyone has a hope of winning this it's you!"

"I'm more concerned with you ladies then him right now," the cook replied.

"I'm fine Mr. Cook," Robin reassured him, "Mr. One Eye's attack was blunt. It didn't even hurt. It just caught me off guard."

"Sanji…" Nami said, "If you win this race for me… I'll kiss you."

"A… a kiss from Nami-swan?" the cook repeated, "THERE COULD BE NO GREATER PRIZE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! SAUTE'!" **ZZZZZZZOOOOM! **The cook kicked up a big cloud of dust as he sped off down the track.

"Koff-koff!" Usopp and Chopper were left coughing as they wiped dirt off of themselves.

"Well, that certainly motivated him," Robin remarked.

"Ricky may look cute in that mask but I'll never let those Foxy Pirates get away with stealing him from me!" Nami growled. "We have to win this race! Or Ricky will be gone for good!"

"Or me," Chopper pointed out.

"Do you honestly think Ricky would let them keep you permanently?" Nami asked. "If we have the choice, Ricky will tell Luffy to pick you. If we lose this I lose him! I mean we, _we_ lose him!"

Robin smiled faintly, "Then let's get going," she resolved. The four of them promptly took off and started running down their path after the others.

"_**CHIQICHEETAH HAS TAKEN AN EARLY LEAD. FULL DASH HAMBURG AND ONE EYE RICKY ARE FOLLOWING BEHIND IN SECOND AND THIRD PLACE! ON THE STRAW HAT SIDE, ZORO IS OUT IN FRONT BUT SANJI IS CLOSING IN FAST!"**_

**ZZZZZOOOM! **"MOVE IT MOSS HEAD!" Sanji shouted as he raced passed Zoro as a blur. The highly motivated cook completely bypassed a long bend in the track by jumping clear over the split and landing on the other side. **SKISH! **"THIS ISN'T JUST A RACE! THIS IS A TEST OF MY LOVE!"

"…**Llliiiiiiiiiiiiight…"** Tonji continued his long and very slow call of 'Green Light'.

"What the heck!?" Luffy complained. "How can you hold that word out for so long, freaky old stilts guy!?"

"He does make an ideal stoplight," Robin admitted.

"**Rrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeed…"** Tonjit finally started his even longer call of 'Red Light'.

Chiqicheetah, Hamburg, Porche and Ricky reached the end of their short straight path where it merged with the Straw Hats' crooked path. Chiqicheetah leapt straight from the end of the path onto the end of the winding mountain path and started to race up it. Ricky and Hamburg followed behind him.

**ZZZZZOOOOM! **"YOU WON'T BEAT ME!" Sanji shouted as he reached the end of the Straw Hats' path a moment later. He slowed his pace as he made the sharp turn and bounded up the winding mountain path after the four Foxy Pirates.

"That cook had better not screw this up!" Zoro complained as he barreled along his path.

Pickles looked over at Big Pan as they thundered down their path behind Zoro. "The swordsman, the cook and the woman with the hands are the only ones we need to worry about on the Straw Hat Team. Let's start knocking 'em out of the game like the boss planned. Heh heh ha!"

"Sheesheeshee!" Big Pan laughed along with Pickles.

"Machete… BACK KICK!" Ricky spun around in the middle of the second length of the mountain path and lashed his leg out behind him at Sanji.

**Thwak! **Sanji swung his own leg and batted Ricky's kick aside.

"Only one person needs to touch the stoplight," Ricky stated. "All I need to do I keep you from touching it and my team will win."

"_**OH! WHAT A BRILLIANT STRATEGY FROM ONE EYE RICKY! HE'S EFFECTIVELY STOPPED SANJI IN HIS TRACKS WHILE ALLOWING THE OTHER FRONT RUNNERS IN TEAM FOXY TO GO OFF AHEAD!"**_

"Yeah, One Eye!" a small bunch of Foxy Pirates cheered.

"You knock that off!" Luffy snapped at them.

"Damn it Ricky!" Nami complained.

Sanji scowled as he lowered his leg and lit up a cigarette. "So once again you stand in between me and my chance at winning Nami-swan's heart."

Ricky smirked, "The fact that you even think you have a chance with her shows how deluded you are. Why would she want you when she's in love with me?"

Sanji flinched from Ricky's harsh barb then growled and lashed out his leg, "BASTARD!"

**CHUNK! **Pickles ripped a huge chunk of rock out of the ground and threw it up into the air. "BIG PAN!"

**SKISH! **The Wotan jumped up into the air and swung his long arm down. "PUNK ATTACK!" **WHAM! **Big Pan spiked the huge rock and sent it flying down at Zoro.

"OH CRAP!" Usopp exclaimed as he looked ahead of them and saw the giant rock flying towards Zoro. "IT'S HEADED RIGHT FOR HIM!"

"THE OLD MAN'S ABOUT TO FINISH HIS 'RED LIGHT'!" Chopper exclaimed.

"LOOK OUT ZORO!" Nami hollered.

"…**Lllliiiiiiiiiiiiii…"** Tonjit continued to draw out the call of 'Red Light'.

"Huh?" Zoro grunted and looked up to see the huge incoming rock then reached for his swords.

"Heh heh ha!" Pickle chuckled while Big Pan laughed. "Sheesheeshee!"

"COLLIER SHOOT!" Sanji shouted as he swung his foot at Ricky's neck.

"…**iiiiigggggghhhhhhht!"** Tonji finally finished.

"Quick! Stop!" Porche called out in alarm. Chiqicheetah and Hamburg skidded to a stop on the third length of the winding mountain pass up above Ricky and Sanji.

**SWisssshhh… **Sanji and Ricky instantly froze. Sanji with his leg still up in the air and Ricky still in the process of spinning underneath it.

"Ugh!" Capote grunted as he, Pickles and Big Pan froze on their path.

"Ahh!" Nami gasped as she, Usopp, Chopper and Robin all froze on their side.

**WHAM! **The huge rock crashed down on Zoro.

**SLISH! **But then it suddenly split in half and went flying back the way it had come.

"…" Zoro was revealed as he knelt on one knee with two swords poised over his head.

**WHHIIIISSH! **The two halves of the split rock flew back across the two paths towards Pickles and Big Pan.

"Huh?" Tonjit mumbled as he finally pulled his face away from the rock and turned to look down at the course. His eyes searched for any sign of movement and instantly locked onto the two rock halves flying towards the two Groggy Monsters.

"_Gah!" _Pickles gasped to himself. _"If we move we'll be out!"_

**WHAM! **One rock half slammed into the motionless Pickles while the other hit Big Pan right in the chest. **WHAM! **The two huge Groggy Monsters went flying off the path from the impact and made huge splashes when they hit the water. **SPLA-SPLASH!**

Capote blinked as he was suddenly left standing alone on his track.

"You're out," Tonjit announced after seeing the biggest two competitors go flying off the track.

"_**AN EARLY UPSET ON TEAM FOXY FROM PICKLES AND BIG PAN! THEY'VE BEEN KNOCKED OFF THE COURSE AND OUT OF THE GAME!"**_

"ALRIGHT ZORO!" Luffy cheered. "WAY TO GO! NICE ONE!"

"Whatever!" Foxy scoffed. "It's no big deal! We only need one person from Team Foxy to touch him for the win and it doesn't matter which one does it! Fehfehfehfehfeh!"

"_**CHIQICHEETAH, PORCHE AND HAMBURG ARE ALL OUT IN FRONT AND HAVE QUITE A SIGNIFICANT LEAD ON THE STRAW HATS. THE ONLY ONE ANYWHERE CLOSE TO THE STOPLIGHT IS THE COOK SANJI. BUT HE'S BEEN STOPPED BY HIS FORMER CREWMATE AND OUR NEWEST RECRUIT, ONE EYE RICKY!"**_

"That put me in a 'we're totally gonna win' mood," Porche remarked.

"Pupupupupu!" Hamburg laughed but was careful not to raise his arm to cover his mouth.

Porche glanced down and saw Ricky and Sanji frozen on the length of the path below them. "One Eye, the boss is right," Porche said. "Only one of us needs to touch the old man. So stay down there and don't let any of your former crew get passed you."

"Understood," Ricky agreed.

"Grrr…" Sanji growled and gnawed at his cigarette as he glared down at Ricky. "I'm on a mission of love for Miss. Nami! I won't let you stop me!"

"Oh please," Ricky scoffed, "I broke her heart and she still likes me better than you."

"Ouch! Burn!" Hamburg remarked from overhead. "Pupupupupupu!"

"I don't need to take this from you!" Sanji snapped. "As soon as I can move I'll kick that smug smirk right off of your face!"

"Damn, they're way too fast!" Nami complained.

"There's no way we can catch up with them," Usopp added. "Sanji and Zoro are out only hope."

"Only now it's not just a matter of catching up with them," Robin noted. "Once we get to the mountain we'll have to find a way to get passed Mr. One Eye."

Tonjit turned and buried his face against the rock again,** "Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…"**

**SWISH! **Sanji twisted his foot and swung it straight down at Ricky. **SKISH! **Ricky rolled passed Sanji and avoided the kick. **WHAM! **Sanji's foot embedded itself into the ground which showed that the cook wasn't pulling his kicks a bit.

"Have I touched a nerve?" Ricky asked with a sly grin.

"GO! GO!" Porche shouted. Chiqicheetah and Hamburg took off and started running down the path again.

"Now!" Zoro grunted as he pushed off the ground and barreled down the track.

Nami, Usopp, Chopper and Robin started running again while Capote who was now alone one the other track ran along behind them.

"…**eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnn…"**

"_**DESPITE LOSING TWO PLAYERS, TEAM FOXY HAS A HUGE LEAD AND IS THE CLOSEST TO REACHING THE STOPLIGHT! AT THIS RATE, THE STRAW HATS DON'T STAND A CHANCE OF WINNING THIS ROUND!"**_

"YEAH!" the Foxy Pirates cheered.

"GO! GO!" Luffy encouraged his crew.

"That's it, just like we planned!" Foxy exclaimed, "Keep it up and we win! Fehfehfehfeh!"

**-x-**

**Dash Touch Domination:**

**-x-**

Chiqicheetah, Hamburg and Porche continued to race up the weaving mountain path while Ricky stayed behind them and held up Sanji.

"Maybe if Zoro can catch up to Sanji they can get passed Ricky together," Usopp suggested.

"Only one problem with that, Mr. Long Nose," Robin stated as she pointed ahead of them.

Zoro had finally reached the end of the Straw Hats' path… and had gone the wrong way. He was now standing dumbfounded on the opposite side of the reef from where the joined path up the mountain began.

"How'd this happened?" Zoro wondered. "The path is gone!"

"HOW THE HELL CAN ANYONE GET LOST IN A PATH LIKE THIS ONE!?" Usopp yelled.

"YOU CAN SEE THE OLD MAN AT THE END OF IT, DUMMY!" Chopper shouted.

"EVEN _YOUR_ SENSE OF DIRECTION CAN'T BE _THAT _BAD!" Nami hollered.

"I'll get him," Robin offered. "Noventa Fleur… BRIDGE!" Two long chains of arms crew out of the edge of the path. With thirty arms in each chain, Robin's arms reached far enough to grab onto the edge of the reef where Zoro was standing. A third set of thirty arms had grown out of one chain of arms and grabbed onto the arms on the other chain to serve as foot holds.

Robin jumped onto her 'hand-made' bridge and ran along it towards Zoro.

"_**OH MY! LOOKS LIKE NICO ROBIN HAS USED HER POWERS TO CREATE A SHORTCUT FOR HERSELF!"**_

"YEAH ROBIN!" Nami, Usopp and Chopper all cheered.

Robin stepped off of her bridge next to Zoro, "Mr. Swordsman, come with me," she instructed. "I'll show you the right path."

Zoro grumbled under his breath but turned and followed Robin towards the edge of the path up the mountain for the second half of the course.

**THWHAM! **Sanji's foot slammed into Ricky's stomach.

**Whap! **Due to the painkillers Ricky didn't even feel the kick and just used it as an opportunity to grab onto Sanji's leg. Ricky quickly capitalized and drove his elbow down into Sanji's knee. **WHAK! WHAK! WHAK!**

"Ugghh…" Sanji groaned and pulled his legs in. Ricky swung his own leg at Sanji's head. **SWISH! **Sanji ducked under Ricky's kick and Ricky landed behind him.

"You know what's really pathetic?" Ricky asked Sanji. "Even if I wasn't on the crew, Nami still wouldn't give you the time of day."

"You shut your mouth!" Sanji snapped.

"You're a joke to her!" Ricky kept on prodding him. "She'll never love you."

**Krak! **Something inside of Sanji snapped. "YOU DON'T DESERVE HER, YOU BASTARD!" The enraged cook shot his leg out at Ricky. **SWISH! **Ricky easily telegraphed the angry kick and spun around it.

"Quarterstaff… SWEEP!" **THWAK! **Ricky kicked the back of Sanji's leg and knocked him to the ground. Ricky lashed out and drove his leg down onto the back of Sanji's knee. **WHOMP! **"Let's see you win a race on that."

"_**OH! BRILLIANT STRATEGY BY OUR VERY OWN RICKY! HE'S DIRECT ALL OF HIS KICKS TO THE COOK SANJI'S POWERFUL LEGS. NOT ONLY WILL HIS KICKS LOSE POWER BUT HE WON'T BE ABLE TO RUN ON THAT LEG."**_

"Yeah! Go One Eye!" a group of Foxy Pirates cheered. "Kick that cook's ass!"

"Hey!" Luffy protested. "Ricky's _my _Nakama you can't cheer for him!"

"Not anymore he ain't!" another Foxy Pirate retorted.

"He's _our _crewmate now," a third insisted, "And he's gonna make so none of _your crew _gets within thirty feet of that stoplight!"

"Come on!" Nami called back to Usopp and Chopper, "Let's use Robin's bridge as a shortcut!"

**SKISH! **The Weakling Trio skidded to a stop when Capote jumped clear across the water to their path and landed in front of them. **TMP!**

"You're not going anywhere," the Swordfish Fishman threatened them.

"What do you want?" Nami demanded.

"In my opinion it never hurts to reduce the number of opponents you have," Capote stated as he got into a fighting pose. "It's time for you three to kick the bucket."

"OH CRAP!" Usopp yelped.

"Nami! Usopp!" Chopper exclaimed, "What do we do?"

"We have no choice," Nami told them.

"Right," Usopp agreed, "RUN FOR IT!"

"No," Nami said, stopping Usopp in his tracks. "We can't run. I spent half of my life with a long-nosed fishman tormenting me and standing in between me and my dreams. Ricky got rid of him for him. I'm not gonna let another one stand in my way of winning Ricky back!" Nami pulled out the three blue poles of her Clima-Tact and stuck them together to form a staff.

"Me neither!" Chopper agreed as he transformed into his big Heavy Point form. "We're gonna win Big Brother back no matter what! I'll fight too!"

"Chopper… I never said anything about fighting," Nami told him, "Use your other form." Chopper blinked then transformed into his full reindeer form. "NOW!"

Nami lunged to the side and jumped on Chopper's back, the reindeer surged forward and rammed antlers-first into Capote's stomach. **WHAM! **The fishman doubled over and Nami swung her ClimaTact and clubbed him out of the way. **WHAK! **Capote dropped to the ground and Chopper bolted passed him.

"HEY! WAIT FOR ME!" Usopp shouted as he ran after them.

Nami twisted and reached behind her. Usopp grabbed Nami's hand and she pulled him onto Chopper behind her.

"WHY YOU!" Capote roared as he stood back up. "YOU WON'T MAKE A FOOL OUT OF ME!"

"RUN FOR IT!" Nami shouted as Chopper raced down the path away from the angry fishman.

"Mr. Swordsman, here's the path," Robin announced as she started up the mountain path. But she stopped when she suddenly realized that she was alone. "Mr. Swordsman?" Robin turned to look over her shoulder.

"The path… how does this keep happening?" Zoro wondered as he stood at the edge of the reef. Even with Robin leading him, he'd walked right by the path.

"Oh for the love of all that is dark and creepy," Robin complained. "How could _anyone_ have such a horrible sense of direction?" The archeologist trudged back down the path to retrieve the hopelessly lost swordsman.

"I don't care…" Sanji growled as he pushed himself back up to his feet. "I don't care that she likes you more than me… I don't care if she _does _think I'm a joke… I don't care that she'll never return my feelings… THAT'S NOT GOING TO STOP ME FROM DOING EVERYTHING THAT I CAN TO PLEASE NAMI-SWAN!" **SWISH! **Sanji lashed his leg out and Ricky barely managed to weave to the side to avoid it but Sanji suddenly pivoted and swung his leg back into Ricky's face. **THWAK! **Ricky recoiled from the impact but not the pain. Sanji pressed his advantage and dropped onto his hands then swung his leg into Ricky's stomach. **THWAK! **Sanji kept spinning and drove his other leg into Ricky's chest. **THWHAM! **Ricky was knocked flat on his back from the impact.

"Nami-swan asked me to win this race because she wants your worthless ass back on the crew," Sanji stated. "And that's just what I'm gonna do."

Ricky sat back up and rubbed the fresh blood away from his mouth. "Then you've already failed. You'll never win while I'm still here."

Sanji looked up ahead of them and saw that Chiqicheetah and Hamburg were headed up the steep fourth length of path towards the final curve and the home stretch that led to Tonji's platform.

"Man, the old stilts guy's greeeeeeeeeen is even longer than it was last time," Luffy remarked.

Luffy and the Foxy Pirates peered at Tonjit and noted a bubble coming out of Tonjit's nose as he snored while leaning on his rock.

"He's sleeping!" Luffy and the Foxy Pirates realized.

"HEY! WAKE UP!"

"WAKE UP!"

"DON'T BE SLEEPING!"

"Huh?" Tonjit grunted as he woke with a start, **"Green light, Red light!"**

The racers were all caught off guard by Tonjit's fast and very sudden call.

**SKEEEEESSSSSHHHH… **Chiqicheetah and Hamburg skidded to a stop on the fourth bend.

Ricky and Sanji both froze in mid-kick.

Robin stopped next to Zoro on the edge of the reef.

**SKISH! **Capote leapt up into the air as he lunged after Chopper. "I'LL GET YOU!"

**SKEEESSSH… **Chopper skidded to a stop at the end of the Straw Hats' path.

Tonjit turned around and saw Capote flying towards the Straw Hats.

"Damn it!" the fishman cursed.

"You're out!" Tonjit called out.

**THUD! **Capote dropped to the ground and laid there depressed.

"_**TAKEN BY SURPRISE THAT THE STOPLIGHT WAS NAPPING, CAPOTE WAS CAUGHT OFF GUARD, UNABLE TO STOP AND IS OUT!"**_

"What kind of weirdo falls asleep standing up and leaning against a rock like that?" Foxy demanded.

"That old stilts guy sure is something!" Luffy remarked, "Shishishishishi!"

"Mr. Swordsman, I think your bad sense of direction might have paid off," Robin commented.

"How?" Zoro asked.

"To your left there's a row of rocks," Robin pointed out, "We can jump across those and use them as a shortcut to completely bypass the first two lengths of that path. That's our ticket to get back into this race."

"Right," Zoro replied. His eyes drifted along the winding path and noted at the shortcut let out at the curve that was up ahead of Ricky and Sanji. "We'll go as soon as he starts again…"

A chilly blew down the course passed Nami and Usopp riding Chopper at the very back, passed Zoro and Robin who stood poised at the edge of the reef near their shortcut, passed Ricky and Sanji who were still in the middle of a fight, passed Hamburg, Porche and Cheetah near the end of the course and made it all the way up to Tonjit at the very top.

"Brrrr, it's cold," Tonji noted as he hugged himself for warmth. "I wanna get this over with so I can go inside and eat something warm." The nomad turned and buried his face against his rock. **"Grrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnn…"**

"GO! GO!" Porche ordered as Chiqicheetah and Hamburg started running again.

**WHAK! **Ricky and Sanji's legs collided in midair. But Sanji had used his bad leg to kick with which gave Ricky enough of an advantage to knock it out of the way. Ricky jumped and lashed out with his other leg. "Jumping… JAVELIN KICK!" **THWHAM! **Sanji inadvertently bit his cigarette in half as Ricky's foot slammed into his jaw and sent him flying backwards.

"Let's go, Mr. Swordsman!" Robin called out as she jumped onto the first rocky pillar. **Krek-krek… **The worn rock strained under the sudden pressure as Robin jumped to the next one. **Skish! Skish! **Robin quickly jumped along he path of unstable rock pillars.

"_**OH! IT LOOKS LIKE NICO ROBIN IS USING ANOTHER SHORTCUT! AND THIS TIME SHE'S BRINGING THAT CLUELESS SWORDSMAN WITH HER!"**_

Zoro jumped onto the first pillar. **KROOM! **The worn rock crumbled underneath him and the swordsman had to frantically launch himself to the next one. **SKISH! KROOOM! **As soon as he landed the next pillar gave way.

"Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!" Zoro cursed as each pillar collapsed under him and resulted in his jumps getting more and more desperate. **KROOOM! **The last pillar gave way before Zoro could jump off of it and the swordsman plummeted down after the falling rocks. "WAAAH!"

"Veinte Fleur… Vine!" Robin sent a chain of twenty arms down after Zoro and snagged him right out of the air. **WHAP! **"I've got you, Swordsman."

"Yeah… thanks…" Zoro grunted as Robin hoisted him back up onto the track.

"_**WHOA! THAT WAS A RISKY GAMBLE BY THE STRAW HATS BUT IT PAID OFF! BUT IS IT ENOUGH TO GET THEM BACK IN THIS RACE?"**_

"…**lllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiggggggghhhhhht…"**

"I guess we can't use their shortcut…" Usopp noted as he eyed the collapsed path that Zoro and Robin had taken.

"HURRY CHOPPER!" Nami exclaimed as the reindeer ran towards the path up the mountain.

"I'd like to see you run faster while carrying two people!" Chopper retorted.

"Thanks for the help Robin," Zoro said as he stood up. "I can take it from here!" He took off and ran down the path. Down. As in the opposite way from the stoplight.

"Swordsman! You're going the wrong way again!" Robin called after him.

"NOT THIS TIME!" Zoro called back as he drew his swords and lashed out at Ricky. **KLANG! **Ricky drew his own sword and blocked Zoro's incoming attack. "I'm right where I need to be!"

"Moss-head…" Sanji groaned as he stood back up, "I don't need your help."

"Too bad, I'm giving it anyway," Zoro told him. "I'll handle Ricky. You win the race."

"My team just rounded the final turn," Ricky pointed out, "He'll never catch them on that leg."

"Wanna bet?" Sanji retorted. He turned and ran then jumped. **SKISH! **Sanji jumped from one length of the pass to the other and completely bypassed Robin at the turn. **Tmp!** "Uugghh…" Sanji groaned as he touched down on his bad leg but immediately launched himself straight across again. **SKISH! **Sanji bypassed another turn and landed on the length behind the three Foxy Pirates. **Tmp! **"UUGH!" Sanji touched down again and his leg buckled under the strain but he ignored his pain and pushed off again to skip the final curve. **SKISH!**

"Heads up!" Hamburg called out as Sanji landed in between them on the home stretch. **TMP!**

"No fair!" Porche whined. "He wasn't even using the track!"

"**Rrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed…"**

"Here's a second serving gorilla-man!" Sanji growled as he lashed his leg out behind him and kicked Hamburg in the chest. **THWHAM! **Sanji's kick sent Hamburg and Porche flying backwards back down the path towards the edge of the reef.

"SANJI! STOP THE CHEETAH!" Nami shrieked as Chopper ran up the first length of the pass.

"GRAH!" Chiqicheetah growled as he bounded towards Tonjit.

"This is gonna hurt…" Sanji muttered before he kicked off the ground after the cheetah. "SAUTE'!" **ZZZZZZOOOOM! **Sanji shot along the home stretch after cheetah and quickly closed in on him then passed him.

"GRUH?" Chiqicheetah grunted in surprise as Sanji skidded to a stop in between him and Tonjit.

"Bad kitty," Sanji growled then lashed out his leg. **THWAK!**

**WOOOSH! **Sanji's kick sent Chiqicheetah flying back down the pass. **WHAM! **The cheetah slammed into Hamburg and all three Foxy Pirates tumbled off the edge.

"Uuuggghh…" Sanji grunted as his leg gave out and he dropped onto one knee behind Tonjit.

**Whap! **Hamburg managed to grab onto the edge of the reef while Porche clung desperately to his back. "Don't let go! Don't let go!" Porche shrieked.

Chiqicheetah wasn't so lucky and he plummeted all the way down into the water. **SPLAASH!**

"_**OH NO! SANJI NEARLY KNOCKED ALL THREE OF OUR FRONT RUNNERS OFF THE TRACK! SOMEONE GET CHIQICHEETAH OUT OF THERE! HE CAN'T SWIM!"**_

"…L**llliiiiiiggghhhhtt!"**

Tonjit turned around and saw Sanji right behind him. Then looked passed him and saw Hamburg and Porche hanging off the edge of the reef.

Tonji glanced down off the edge of the reef to see Big Pan fish Chiqicheetah out of the water. The huge Wotan was big enough that his feet could touch the bottom. But that didn't change the fact that Chiqicheetah was being moved during his rescue.

"He's out," Tonjit stated.

"_**WHAT A SHOCKING TURN OF EVENTS! OUR THREE FOXY PIRATE FRONT RUNNERS WERE NEARLY KILLED BY SANJI! NOW THE STRAW HAT COOK IS WITHIN FIVE FEET OF THE STOPLIGHT! IT LOOKS LIKE THIS MATCH IS GOING TO THE STRAW HATS IN YET ANOTEHR COME FROM BEHIND VICTORY!"**_

"YEAH SANJI!" Luffy cheered. "Touch him! You gotta touch him! Touch the stoplight!"

"GO SANJI!" Usopp and Chopper cheered from all the way down the pass.

Tonjit nodded at Sanji, "Let's get this game over with." He turned around to face the rock. **"Grrrreeeeeeeeeennn… Lllliiiiiiiiiiigggghhht…"**

"Yeah… thanks for everything old man," Sanji said as he stood up and limped towards Tonjit. "Hopefully this'll be enough to show Nami-swan how powerful my unconditional love is."

"WAAAAH!" Porche cried out as she lost her old on Hamburg and fell off his back.

Tonjit and his injured leg were instantly forgotten as Sanji spun on the spot and raced back down the path.

"Dumb-ass cook," Zoro muttered. "Do I have to do everything?"

"Come on, Zoro," Ricky taunted as he waved his curved red sword. "Is that all you've got?"

"I'll show you!" Zoro retorted before he lashed out with two of his swords. **SLASH!** Zoro slashed Ricky clean across the chest. The swordsman stared wide eyed as his bloody best friend dropped to the ground at his feet. "What… You should've been able to block that…"

**POW! **Ricky suddenly shot up and drove his fist into Zoro's stomach. "Gotcha." Zoro doubled over and Ricky jumped up into the air and swung his leg down, "Jumping… AX KICK!" **THWAK! **Ricky drove his heel down into Zoro's back. **Thud! **Zoro hit the ground. Ricky landed and immediately lashed out his leg and kicked the swordsman in the side. **THWAK! **Zoro went rolling away down the path.

Ricky turned around and started up the path to go after Robin. But she hadn't gone far.

"Seis Fleur!" Two arms grabbed Ricky's shoulders, another two grabbed his sides while a final pair came out of the ground and grabbed his ankles. "Stand down, Mr. One Eye."

"**Rrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed…"**

"_**WHAT'S THIS? SANJI HAS TURNED AROUND AND STARTED RUNNING BACK DOWN THE TRAIL BEFORE TOUCHING THE STOPLIGHT! WHAT IS HE DOING?"**_

"Even if she's the enemy I can't abandon a lady in distress," Sanji insisted as he ran to the edge of the reef and jumped off after Porche. **SKISH!**

Sanji dropped down and caught Porche in his arms. **WHAP! **The two of them crashed down into the water .**SPLOOSH!**

"_**INCREDIBLE! THE STRAW HAT COOK SANJI HAS SAVED OUR BELOVED PORCHE!"**_

"…**lllllliiiiiiigggghhht…"** Tonjit finished as he looked away from the rock. Sanji was gone. All he could see was Hamburg hanging off the top of the reef with one hand.

"_**HAMBURG IS DESPERATELY TRYING TO HOLD ON WHILE REMAINING STILL! BUT SANJI IS MOST LIKELY GOING TO BE OUT OF THE GAME DUE TO HIS VALIANT AND HEROIC RESCUE OF PORCHE!"**_

Tonjit blinked and spotted Sanji in the water. The cook was completely still.

"_**NO, WAIT! THERE'S SANJI! AND HE HAS PORCHE! NOT ONLY THAT BUT HE SEEMS TO BE HOLDING COMPLETELY STILL DESPITE HIS CURRENT SITUATION. HE'S OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WATER BUT HE'S NOT MOVING AN INCH. HE'S SAFE!"**_

"AAH!" the Foxy Pirates gasped in surprise.

"Impossible!" one pirate exclaimed.

"How can he be standing out there like that?" Foxy wondered. "There's no way he's touching the bottom."

"_**OH! I GET IT!" **_Itomimizu finally realized. _**"HE'S TREADING WATER! AND HE'S DOING IT WHILE CARRYING PORCHE AND KEEPING HIS BODY COMPLETELY MOTIONLESS. HE'S LIKE A DUCK ON A POND. KICKING FURIOUSLY BENEATH THE SURFACE WHILE APPEARING CALM UP ABOVE! AS LONG AS THE STOPLIGHT CAN'T SEE HIM MOVING, HE'S UNDENIABLY SAFE! SANJI IS INCREDIBLY DETERMINED TO WIN."**_

"He couldn't help himself," Usopp noted.

"Noble idiot," Nami muttered. "Let the bitch swim to shore."

"_No matter what happens, I have to win this race," _Sanji thought to himself. _"My leg can't take much more of this. But that doesn't matter. I have to win. Even if this costs me my leg. I'll just get a peg leg like the geezer."_

"_**SANJI STILL HAS A CHANCE TO TOUCH THE STOPLIGHT AND CLAIM THE VICTORY!"**_

"Impressive Mr. Cook," Robin said as she stood at the edge of the reef holding Ricky in place.

"Sanji! You're awesome!" Luffy gushed on the shore.

"Oh my!" Porche swooned as Sanji held her in his arms. "I think I'm starting to fall for you, Sanji!" The Foxy Idol leaned in and kissed Sanji on the cheek. "Mwah!"

"WAHAHAHA!" Sanji laughed happily and was suddenly struck dumb.

"NO!" Porche shrieked right before she and Sanji dropped into the water. **SPLOOSH!**

"_**OH! PORCHE AND SANJI HAVE DIVED UNDER WATER!"**_

"You two moved," Tonjit stated. "You're out."

"GAAAH!" Luffy and all the Foxy Pirates on the shore gasped. Sanji's heroics had all been for nothing.

**Splish! **Porche broke the surface and glared at Sanji, "Hey! What's your problem! Just keep swimming! Do you want me to drown or something?"

"Oh, what have I done!?" Sanji berated himself. "I've failed Nami-swan!"

"Looks like this one's down to you and me," Ricky noted as he stared down Robin.

"Not quite," Robin replied. She glanced down the pass at Nami, Usopp and Chopper. "I just need to keep you occupied long enough for them to get passed us."

"You really think you can hold me?" Ricky challenged her.

"Oh boy…" Tonjit muttered as he turned to face the rock. "Someone tag me already… **Grrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen…"**

**KREK! **Ricky lurched to the side and broke free from Robin's arms then charged at her.

"Doce Fleur!" Twelve arms sprouted out of the ground and out of Ricky's body and once again rooted him in place.

"Ughh…" Ricky grunted as he struggled against Robin's extra arms. Robin's hold tightened and the arms on his shoulders started to bend his body backwards.

"Don't make me do this, Mr. One Eye," Robin warned him.

Ricky smirked at her, "Yeah, because you suddenly have so many friends that you can afford to break one of them."

"Ah!" Robin gasped and recoiled as Ricky's harsh words once again hit their mark. Her hold on him loosened for a split second. But a split-second was all that Ricky needed.

**SKISH! **Ricky broke free of Robin's hold and lunged forward. Ricky drove his foot into Robin's shin. **THWAK! **Robin's feet were knocked out from under her and she pitched forward. Ricky shot back up and used the bottom of his foot to drive Robin down onto the ground. **WHOMP!**

Robin frowned as she laid face-down and powerless on the ground with Ricky's Sea Stone boot pressed into her back.

"WOO-HOO!" a Foxy Pirate cheered. "One Eye's taking down all the Straw Hats!"

"Yeah! That's our new crewmate!"

"You guys shut up!" Luffy snapped. "As soon as we win this race he'll be my crewmate again!"

"Are you crazy?" a Foxy Pirate retorted. "Your guys don't stand a chance against our Ricky!"

"HE'S _MY _RICKY, DAMN IT!" Luffy shouted at them.

"…**Llllliiiiiiiiiiigggghhhhhht…"**

Ricky reached down and undid his belt. Robin's eyes widened in alarm as she looked back over her shoulder at him, "What are you doing?"

"We both know you'll be able to move and use your powers again the second I take my boot off your back," Ricky answered as he pulled his belt out of his pants then bent down. "So I need to keep my boot on you." Ricky slipped his belt under Robin and used it to strap his boot to Robin's back. Once it was secure, Ricky pulled his foot out of his boot and stepped off of her.

"_**WOW! AFTER SOME RESOURCEFUL USAGE OF SEA STONE AND HIS OWN CLOTHES, RICKY HAS NEUTRALIZED THE DEVIL FRUIT USER NICO ROBIN!"**_

Ricky turned and saw Zoro starting to push himself up off of the ground. "Well, I've still got one boot left…" Ricky race down the path towards the oblivious Zoro. "Running Flail… PUNT KICK!" **THWHAM! **Ricky swung his leg forward and slammed the steel toes of his remaining boot into the side of Zoro's head. Zoro went out like a light and was once again sent tumbling down the path until he finally stopped down at the first curve.

Ricky stood on the path in between the fallen Zoro and Robin. "Well, since the rest of my team is out, I guess it's on me to win this one." Ricky turned and ran back up the path just as Chopper rounded the first curve where Zoro was.

"**Rrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeed…"**

"We've gotta stop him!" Nami exclaimed.

Chopper skidded to a stop and stared down at Zoro then over at Robin, "How're we supposed to do that? He beat Zoro and Robin! He's too fast! There's no way I can catch him like this!"

"I've got an idea," Usopp announced as he pulled a huge rubber band out of his arsenal bag and handed the two ends to Nami. "Hook these on Chopper's antlers."

"What is this gonna do?" Nami asked.

"We're gonna take him out the same way we lost Sanji," Usopp explained as he slipped off of Chopper and stretched the middle of the rubber band backwards. "We're gonna shoot something at him that he'll catch no matter what."

"…**Llllliiiiiiiiiiiiiii…"** Tonjit continued.

"Hurry Usopp!" Chopper exclaimed. "He's almost done with his 'Red Light'!"

"Usopp, what're you gonna shoot at him?" Nami asked. She looked in front of her at the ends of the rubber band hooked on Chopper's antlers then back behind her at Usopp holding the middle of it as he twisted to the side to aim his shot. "Oh."

"SPECIAL ATTACK! USO-CHO NAMI SHOOTING STAR!" **SHOOOOM! **Usopp let go of the rubber band and Nami was sent flying over Chopper's head by the makeshift slingshot.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Nami screamed as she hurled through the air towards Ricky. She closed her eyes and braced for impact.

**SWISH! **Ricky weaved to the side to avoid the incoming attack and Nami sailed right by him. "You missed Usopp," Ricky taunted.

"AAAAAYYYYYAAAHH!" Nami screamed as she went flying off the edge of the reef and plummeted downward.

Ricky's eye widened when he realized what had just missed him, "Shit! Nami!" **SKISH!** Ricky didn't hesitate and immediately dove head-first off the reef after the falling navigator. **WHAP! **Ricky caught Nami in midair then spun them around so he was below her. Ricky took the impact and broke the surface back-first before they both went under.** SPLASH!**

"…**iiiiigghhhhhht!"** Tonjit finished. **Splash! **He looked down off the reef and saw Ricky break the surface of the water down below with Nami in his arms. "You're both out."

"YEAH! WE DID IT!" Usopp and Chopper cheered.

"NOOO! RICKY, WHY?" the Foxy Pirates wailed.

"YEAH! THEY DID IT!" Luffy cheered.

"_**NO! THEY DID IT!" **_Itomimizu wailed. _**"ONE EYE HAS SACRIFICED HIMSELF TO SAVE THAT NEFARIOUS NAVIGATOR NAMI! NOW THEY'RE BOTH OUT OF THE RACE! EVERYONE ON TEAM FOXY HAS BEEN ELIMINATED!"**_

Tonji turned and started his long line again, **"Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen…"**

"Uuuugghhh…" Hamburg groaned as he finally pulled himself back up onto the path.

"_**WAIT! HAMBURG IS STILL IN THIS! AND HE'S IN RANGE OF THE STOPLIGHT!"**_

Hamburg pushed himself up to his feet and staggered towards Tonjit.

"GAH! THE GORILLA GUY IS STILL UP THERE!" Chopper shrieked.

"Uugghhh…" Zoro groaned as he finally regained consciousness and pushed himself up to his knees. "What happened? Did we lose?"

"Not yet but we're about to!" Usopp exclaimed. "That gorilla's almost at the stoplight!"

"I'll stop him!" Zoro resolved then turned and ran down the path.

"ZORO! THAT'S THE WRONG WAY!" Chopper shouted after him,

"DAMN IT!" Zoro yelled as he spun around and ran in the other direction.

Usopp shook his head, "He'll never make it in time."

"I'd be happy to help if one of you could get this boot off of me," Robin offered.

**Slik! **Zoro drew his sword and bent down to cut Ricky's belt off of Robin with the blade then knocked the boot off of her with the handle all without breaking his stride.

"…**Llllliiiiiiiiiiggggghhhhht…"** Tonjit continued to intone.

Usopp and Chopper in his tiny hybrid form ran over to Robin as she got back to her feet.

"What're we gonna do Robin?" Chopper asked.

"We'll fire another slingshot like you did with Navigator," Robin decided.

Usopp looked up at the six foot two archeologist then down at the rubber band that was still hanging off of Chopper's antlers. "Uh, no offense, Robin but I don't think you're light enough for us to shoot you all the way over there."

"None taken, Long Nose," Robin said, "Because you're not going to be shooting me up there." Robin bent down and picked up Chopper then wrapped her arms around him as she pulled the reindeer to her chest. "I'm going to be the slingshot."

"**Rrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeee…"**

"Home free! Home free!" Hamburg chanted as he bounded towards Tonjin on all fours.

"_**HAMBURG'S AT THE HOME STRETCH! THERE'S NO STOPPING HIM NOW!"**_

"_I can't let him win!" _Zoro thought to himself as he raced along the path. _"He may have just kicked me in the head but I'm not gonna lose Ricky!"_

Zoro skidded to a stop at the edge of the third curve and looked up ahead of him at Hamburg.

"THE HELL WITH THIS PATH!" Zoro yelled as he jumped forward off the path and swung his sword through the air towards Hamburg. "One Sword Style… THIRTY-SIX CALIBER PHOENIX!" **SWOOOSH! **An air blade flew off of Zoro's sword and whizzed at Hamburg.

**SWISH! **Hamburg jumped back to avoid Zoro's flying blade attack before it blasted into the ground in front of him with the force of a cannon. **BOOOOOM!**

"…**eeeeeeeeeed…"**

"Hurry, Long Nose!" Robin called out.

"Right!" Usopp agreed, "SPECIAL ATTACK: USOBIN CHOPPER SHOOTING STAR!" Usopp let go of Robin and her extended arms launched her forward. **WOOOOSH! **

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Chopper screamed as he and Robin flew over the track until Robin's slingshot arms reached their limit.

"It's up to you now, Doctor," Robin said as she used her original arms to throw Chopper ahead of her with all the momentum from the slingshot behind them. **WHING!**

"…**Lllllllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii…"**

"RIIIIIICKYYYYYYYYYYY!" Chopper screamed as he whizzed by Hamburg and slammed into Tonjit. **WHAM! **The two of them kept going and smashed through Tonjit's rock. **KROOM!**

"_**I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING! WHAT HAPPENED?"**_

But then the dust settled to reveal Chopper sitting on top of an unconscious Tonjit. "TAG!"

"_**THE WINNER OF DASH TOUCH DOMINATION IS CHOPPER! THE STRAW HATS WIN ROUND TWO! I KNEW THAT REINDEER WAS AMAZING!"**_

"YEEEAAHHH! HE DID IT!" Luffy cheered.

"Yeah! He did it!" Zoro exclaimed.

"YEAH! HE DID IT!" Usopp jumped up and down and cheered while Robin stood next to him and smiled.

"YEAH! I DID IT!" Chopper bellowed. "BIG BROTHER I DID IT! I WON!"

"NO! CHOPPY! WHYYYY?" Porche wailed as she sat on the shore next to Sanji.

Sanji looked down as Ricky swam over with Nami and darted over to help the wet navigator onto the dry shore. Ricky climbed out after Nami.

Nami smiled faintly at Sanji then turned back to Ricky with a raised eyebrow.

"…" Ricky opened his mouth to say something but then shut it as he recalled how easily their last few conversations have gone south. "…" He opened it again to say something else but again stopped himself. He didn't want to say something to set her off again. Eventually he just settled on saying, "Thank you."

Nami frowned, disappointed that their relationship had disintegrated to the point where he couldn't even talk around her anymore. She knew that her broken heart and hair-trigger temper were partially-_mostly _to blame for making things this way. But it still hurt to see how bad things had gotten between them. "No problem."

Nami turned away from Ricky and back to Sanji, "Thanks for trying Sanji." Nami leaned in and quickly pecked him on the cheek.

Sanji flushed bright red, "I just wish I could have done more!"

Nami shook her head and walked passed him towards the carnival and the stage.

Sanji watched Nami go then turned to stare at Ricky. Ricky stared back at Sanji. They'd both said very harsh things to each other during the race and now an awkward air hung around them.

"Eep!" Porche squeaked as she took one look at the two then turned and ran away. She'd rather be near the chick that broke her nose then in the middle of this blast zone.

"Full disclosure," Ricky finally said, "At this point I'd almost prefer it if she was with you. You'd treat her like a Princess. She'd be happy. And I wouldn't feel so rotten for hurting her."

"The heart wants what it wants," Sanji replied. "Hers led her to you. I'd never stand in the way of her love and happiness. The reason you're both hurting so much right now is because of how strong your feelings for each other are. I hope that once you sort yourself out and make things right between the two of you that your love will be even stronger because of it."

"Yeah… but who knows long that'll take," Ricky muttered.

Sanji smirked, "Then in the meantime, I'll use this opportunity to show Miss. Nami that there are better options available for her."

Ricky shook his head and grinned, "Yeah, good luck with that…"

**-x-**

**BLOOOM! BLOOOM! BLOOOM! **

Fireworks went off over the stage as the two crews gathered to decide the result of the latest round.

"Well, Straw Hat?" Foxy asked from the stage. "Who'll it be this time?"

"You have to ask?" Luffy replied. "GIMME BACK MY BROTHER!"

Ricky grinned as he pulled off his foxy mask and ears made his way back to the Straw Hats. "Later guys."

"BYE ONE EYE!" a few Foxy Pirates exclaimed.

"GOOD LUCK!" Capote added.

"_**WE'LL MISS YOU, ONE EYE!"**_ Itomimizu of all people called after him.

Ricky grinned as he made his way back to the Straw Hats.

"BIG BROTHER!" Chopper cried out as he jumped up and hugged him.

"I'm proud of you," Ricky said as he patted Chopper on the back. "Nice going, little guy." Ricky looked over Chopper's top hat at Zoro, Robin and Sanji. "Sorry I got a bit rough on you guys."

"All part of the game," Zoro replied as he reached out and clasped Ricky's shoulder.

"No hard feelings," Sanji agreed.

"You made an oath," Robin stated, "You were obligated to do everything you could to stop us."

"Welcome back," Nami said simply.

"Good to—uuuggghhh!" Ricky's response turned into a groan. "There it goes… The painkillers just wore off…" **FWUMP! **He promptly fainted.

"SOMEONE GET A DOCTOR!" Chopper shrieked.

"THAT'S YOU!" Usopp snapped.

"HURRY BEFORE HE BLEEDS OUT!" Nami yelled.

"Don't celebrate just yet, Straw Hat!" Foxy sneered from the stage. "There's still one round left and you're fighting me!"

"Yeah, and I'll kick your ass, split-head!" Luffy retorted.

"DON'T GET COCKY!" Foxy shouted back at him, "I'VE NEVER LOST A CAPTAIN'S FIGHT! And… since this is the last round… if you lose… I'll get to keep any of your crew that I win… FOREVER!"

"I WON'T LOSE!" Luffy hollered. "BRING IT ON!"

**-x-**

'Till Next Time…

Peace!


	7. Final Round

**Another Nakama IV**

**Disclaimer:** The following is a non-profit fanfic. One Piece and all the related characters are owned by Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV, Shueisha, Shonnan Jump Manga and Eiichiro Oda. QPython only owns the original characters that he created for this story.

**Final Round:**

**-x-**

"I WON'T LOSE!" Luffy hollered. "BRING IT ON!"

"Alright, Straw Hat, since you're so confident, why don't we raise the stakes?" Foxy offered. "You may be stronger than me but you don't scare me one bit. I've never lost a Captain's Fight and I'm not gonna start now!"

"Raise the stakes?" Luffy repeated. "What're you talking about, Split-Head?"

"Split-head… why you!" Foxy snapped. "If you were a real man you'd be willing to go all in! You'd be willing put everything on the line and go out in one big blaze of glory!"

"Everything on the line?" Nami cut in, "Are you crazy? Don't even think about it Luffy!"

"Don't listen to him, Luffy!" Usopp warned him.

"I don't wanna go back on his crew!" Chopper cried as he looked up from Ricky.

"You can't be this stupid!" Sanji chimed in. "Don't fall for it!"

"I'm a real man," Foxy continued to goad Luffy, "And I'm so sure that I can beat you that I'm willing to put my entire crew on the line in this last round! What do you say, Straw Hat? Are you willing to bet your crew against mine? Or are you just a little boy playing a man's game?"

"_**OH MY!" **_Itomimizu gasped._** "THE BOSS IS THROWING DOWN THE GAUNTLET WITH HIS DREADED FIVE-HUNDRED MAN BET! WELL, STRAW HAT? WHAT DO YOU SAY? ARE YOU A MAN OR JUST A LITTLE BOY?"**_

"I'M A MAN!" Luffy shouted. "I'M NOT SCARED!"

"DON'T FALL FOR IT!" Nami, Usopp Sanji and Chopper all yelled at him.

"_**OF COURSE, YOUR CREW DOESN'T ACTUALLY HAVE FIVE HUNDRED PEOPLE TO MATCH THE BET. YOU'LL HAVE TO PAY US OFF WITH YOUR DESCENDANTS. YOUR CHILDREN, GRAND CHILDREN, HOW EVER MANY IT TAKES TO MAKE UP FIVE HUNDRED PEOPLE WILL SWEAR LOYALTY TO THE FOXY PIRATES AND JOIN OUR CREW!"**_

"Our… our children too?" Sanji repeated as he imagined a little girl with short orange hair and brown eyes. "Oh, so cute!"

But Sanji wasn't the only one affected by the thought of losing their non-existent daughter. A girl with long red hair, slanted brown eyes and a mischievous smirk flashed in front of Nami's eyes. Kitsune. 'Kit'. Her little kitten. The little girl that she'd already picked out a name for. But then the girl's smirk changed into a frown and Nami's eyes widened in horror as her imaginary daughter was suddenly wearing a Foxy mask and Foxy ears.

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING MY DAUGHTER, YOU BASTARD!" Nami yelled. "I'M KEEPING KIT AS FAR AWAY FROM YOU FOXY PIRATE JERKS AS POSSIBLE!"

"Kit?"

Nami's face went bright red when what she'd just said finally registered but worse than that was who she'd just said it in front of.

Nami turned and saw the Straw Hats all staring at her. Luffy, Usopp and Robin looked amused. Sanji looked devastated. But the worst part was the smug shark-like grin on Zoro's face. Her only saving grace was that Ricky was still unconscious and didn't hear her.

"_**Uh… well… congratulations… I guess," **_Itomimizu said awkwardly. The Straw Hats were quickly reminded of their current situation. _**"BUT THIS IS STILL THE CAPTAIN'S DECISION AND THE CAPTAIN'S DECISION ALONE."**_

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Foxy exclaimed. "You're the Captain, Straw Hat. That means your opinion is the only one that matters. And you're the only one that would be deemed as a coward if you don't accept my challenge!"

Robin leaned closer to Luffy, "Captain, we lost two rounds and as a result we lost two crewmates. We were fortunate enough to win them both back. I hope that this ordeal would have at least taught you that your crew is not something that you should be gambling with. If you truly treasure your crew then why are you even thinking about risking us as if we're something as common as money?"

Luffy's eyes narrowed.

"Well, Straw Hat?" Foxy asked, "What do you say? Are you a man or a little boy?"

"NO WAY!" Luffy finally answered. "What would we do with five hundred people? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! We don't even have enough room on the Merry for that many people! I've got all my Nakama back and we even got Shelly for the old-stilts guy. I just have to win one more fight and we're done here."

"I hate to burst your bubble there, rubber boy," Foxy retorted, "But nobody has ever been able to beat me in a combat round. Maybe I'll pick you when I win! You may be Captain now but when the fight's over you'll be swabbing my deck!"

"YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT ME IN A FIGHT?" Luffy challenged him.

"Fehfehfeh," Foxy let out a low chuckle, "You seem to be missing something, boy. This isn't a fight, it's a game. And when it comes to games, I always win!"

**-x-**

"Uuughh…" Ricky groaned as he finally woke up, "Did I miss the fight?"

"They're still getting ready for it," Zoro informed him.

"One, two, three, four!" Porche and a bunch of Foxy cheerleaders all chanted on the stage. "Who's the man that's gonna score? FOXY!"

"_**WE'VE FINALLY ARRIVED AT THE COMBAT ROUND!" **_Itomimizu announced as he flew over the shore on Chirp Chirp. _**"BUT BEFORE WE START WE MUST DECIDE ON THE BATTLEFIELD. THE TWO COMPETITORS SPIN THIS UNBIASED CANNON AND WHEREVER IT STOPS IS THE PLACE WHERE THEY'LL DO COMBAT!"**_

Luffy and Foxy stood on opposite sides of a cannon that was attached to a wheel. **WHING!** The two Captains gave the cannon a big spin and it spun around in circle in between them. The cannon lost speed and ended up pointed towards the stage. **WHISH! **But suddenly the cannon spun back around the other way and fired at Foxy's ship. **BOOOOM!**

"THAT MATCH HASN'T EVEN STARTED YET AND YOU'RE CHEATING ALREADY!" Usopp complained.

**KRASH! **The cannonball smashed down on the deck of the Foxy Pirates' huge fox-themed ship the Sexy Foxy.

"_**THERE YOU HAVE IT, THE BATTLEFIELD HAS BEEN SET! AND WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT! BY SHEER COINCIDENCE IT LANDED ON THE DECK OF THE SEXY FOXY!"**_

"NOW YOU'RE JUST RUBBING IT IN, YOU LIAR!" Usopp hollered.

"_**MOVING RIGHT ALONG, LET'S EXPLAIN THE RULES OF COMBAT. EVERYTHING WITHIN FIFTY METERS OF WHERE THE CANNONBALL LANDED IS CONSIDERED PART OF THE BATTLEFIELD. THAT MAKES IT A HUNDRED METER WIDE CIRCLE AROUND THE SHIP!"**_

The cannonball had coincidentally landed smack-dab in the middle of the main deck of the Sexy Foxy. Foxy's ship was also coincidentally a hundred meters long so that made the entire ship the battlefield.

"_**WEAPONS AND ANYTHING ELSE FOUND WITHIN THE DESIGNATED BATTLEFIELD ARE ALLOWED. HOWEVER, OUTSIDE CREWMEMBERS ARE STRICTLY FORBIDDEN FROM ENTERING THE SHIP. KNOCK YOUR OPPONENT OUT OF BOUNDS AND YOU WIN THE MATCH, SIMPLE AS THAT. ALSO, AS LONG AS YOU'RE IN THE CIRCLE, FIGHTING IN THE AIR OR WATER IS FINE."**_

"'F''O''X''Y'! FOXY!" Porche and the cheerleaders concluded their routine with Porche and three other cheerleaders being held up by four other cheerleaders as they made up the letters of Foxy's name.

"_**WHILE WE'RE BUSY PREPARING FOR THE MAIN EVENT, PORCHE'S LOVELY FLOWER CHEERLEADERS ARE PREFORMING ON THE STAGE. IF THAT'S NOT YOUR THING, YOU CAN ALSO CHECK OUT A WARM-UP MATCH BEING HELD ON THE FRONT OF THE SHIP. AND AS ALWAYS, OUR ASSOCIATION OF STALLS IS SELLING LIMITED EDITION DAVY BACK FIGHT MERCHANDISE! SO BE SURE TO CHECK THAT OUT AS WELL!"**_

"NOBODY WANTS YOUR JUNK!" Nami snapped, "START THE MATCH ALREADY!"

"One, please!" Luffy and Usopp requested as they stood in front of a 'Foxy Pins' stand.

"Here you go, fellas," the vendor said as he handed Luffy and Usopp each a gold pin of Foxy's smirking face. "Two limited edition Foxy Pins."

"HAVEN'T YOU SEEN ENOUGH OF HIS SMUG FACE!?" Nami berated them.

"We're ready," a Foxy Pirate was brave enough to inform Nami. "Where's your Captain?"

"HE'S RIGHT THERE!" Nami shouted as she jabbed her finger in Luffy's direction. "NOW TAKE HIM BEFORE HE BUYS SOMETHING ELSE!"

The Foxy Pirate ran away from Nami and quickly retrieved Luffy and led him and Usopp into the Sexy Foxy to prepare for the big fight.

Nami looked around her and realized that Ricky, Chopper and Robin had all disappeared without her noticing. "Where'd the others go?" she asked.

"They went on a snack run," Zoro answered.

"That's a great idea," Sanji said, "I'll get us some drinks, Nami-swan!"

Nami scowled and found herself left alone with Zoro.

"What're you mad about this time?" Zoro questioned.

"What do you think?" Nami retorted, "I'm mad at you idiots for not taking this seriously. If everybody sits back and let's Foxy run the show we're gonna get cheated out of our crew."

"He's running the show because he has the man-power to do it," Zoro pointed out, "They out number us a hundred to one."

"That's why we can't let them have even one more!" Nami complained.

"Whatever, if it's just a fight Luffy will be fine," Zoro said as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Zoro, I got you your booze," Ricky announced as he came back and handed the swordsman a six pack of grog bottles. "Save us some good seats when they finish with the stands."

Zoro looked over his shoulder at the wooden risers that the Foxy shipwrights and carpenters were constructing. These stands were even bigger than the ones from the roller skating race. They were set up on the shore near the ship so the respective crews could watch their captain's fight without actually entering the battlefield.

Ricky turned to Nami and held out a stick of cotton candy.

"I got you cotton candy," Ricky stated, "This way you don't have to steal mine."

"Call me crazy, but I'm not in the mood," Nami grumbled.

Ricky shrugged and took a bite from the cotton candy, "Your loss. If you change your mind, I have an arrangement with the snack vendors. They'll give you anything you want for free."

"How'd you get them to agree to that?" Nami asked.

"I bet on Luffy to beat Foxy in the Captain's Fight," Ricky answered, "If our Captain wins, we get all the snacks for free. If theirs wins, I'll pay them double whatever they think is a reasonable price. They think they're pulling one over on me by charging me a hundred thousand berries for a bag of popcorn. But we all know that Luffy would never lose a fight to a guy like Foxy so this one's in the bag. Now I'm gonna head inside and check on him."

Nami watched him head into the Sexy Foxy the same way that Luffy and Usopp had gone but when she turned away she found Zoro staring at her.

"Kit, huh?" the swordsman inquired with a smirk.

"Shut up," Nami growled. "It's… not like it's gonna happen now anyway. We can barely talk to each other. Anything we had is gone."

"If you're looking for sympathy, you won't get it from me," Zoro stated.

Nami glared at him, "Yeah, I bet you're real happy that we ended things."

Zoro looked annoyed, "Why would I be happy when he's miserable?"

Nami's face fell, "He doesn't look it…"

"Of course he doesn't want _you_ to see how much you're hurting him," Zoro replied.

"_I'm _hurting _him_?" Nami repeated, "_He_ broke up with _me_!"

"Yeah, best decision he's ever made as far as you're concerned," Zoro stated. "But for some reason he still cares what you think. I don't know why. Maybe he enjoys the abuse. But if you keep going the way you are it's only a matter of time before even _he_ gets fed up with you and moves on. Then you'll have really lost him."

Nami frowned as Zoro popped open his first grog bottle and wandered over to the stands.

**-x-**

"Hey, you two!" a Foxy snack vendor called out, "Come 'ere! I've got something for you!"

Chopper and Robin walked over to the stall. The vendor presented them with a bucket of popcorn and a soda. "Viola! Some snacks for the show!"

"How much?" Robin inquired.

"Oh, you didn't hear?" the vendor asked. "We vendors have an arrangement with your buddy One Eye. All your snacks are going on his tab. And once Foxy wins, he gets to pay off the bill."

"Really!?" Chopper exclaimed. "Is the cotton candy guy in on this too?"

"Yeah, we all are," the snack vendor replied.

"YEAH!" Chopper cheered. "Gimme a large popcorn and two sodas!" The vender smirked and gave Chopper a large bucket of popcorn which was half the size of the tiny reindeer.

"Where are you gonna put these?" the snack vendor asked as held up two colas.

"I've got an idea," Robin said. "Doctor, I believe I can solve your problem with some of your medical supplies."

"Really?" Chopper asked. "Go ahead. Thanks Robin!"

Robin fished a length of bandages out of Chopper's backpack and used them to strap Chopper's soda cups to the reindeer's pink top hat behind his antlers. Next, Robin pulled out two IV tubes and pierced them through the top of the cups like straws then bent them around the back of Chopper's head before bringing them passed the reindeer's neck to his mouth.

"There you go, Doctor," Robin resolved as she stepped back to admire Chopper's new soda hat.

**Slurp! Slurp! **Both Robin and the vendor watched as Chopper happily sipped from the IV tubes like they were straws and drank his cola using his new hat. "Thanks Robin! It works great!" the reindeer gushed. "Hey, do you think we should get some stuff for Ricky too?"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Robin reasoned before she turned back to the snack vendor, "Two medium popcorn and two more colas, please."

Using two extra arms to carry it all, Chopper and Robin were now officially loaded up on snacks.

"Now…" Chopper said with an evil smirk that seemed almost foreign on the cute reindeer's face. "Take me to the cotton candy guy… Teeheehee!"

"_Hmm…" _the popcorn vendor mused to himself as he eyed Chopper's pink soda hat while the two Straw Hats left his stand, _"I wonder if I could make money selling hats like that one…"_

"You seem very confident going into this next round, Doctor," Robin noted as she looked down at her tiny companion.

"Big Brother wouldn't have placed a big bet like this if he wasn't sure that Luffy would win," Chopper replied, "And Luffy's never let us down when it comes to fighting people."

"But you do realize that, should the Captain lose, Foxy will keep whoever he picks forever," Robin pointed out. "If Foxy follows through on his threat and picks Luffy then he won't be the Captain anymore."

"Isn't that the Peanut Strategy?" Chopper asked. "To take a crew's Captain?"

"Not if it's the last round in the last set of games," Robin informed him. "But I'm surprised you're not more concerned. Foxy has had his eye on you since the beginning of this competition. If they pick you again, there's no coming back."

Chopper shook his head, "Luffy can't lose," the reindeer insisted. "We all just got back together again. We've got a big adventure to go on together. It won't be any fun if we have to split up."

Robin smiled faintly, "Then I'm sure he won't. Let's get you that cotton candy."

**-x-**

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Sanji exclaimed as he glared at the popcorn vendor. "Why do I have to pay so much for your crappy popcorn and cola?"

"I already told you that your pal One Eye has a tab we can put your snacks on," the vendor replied. "That's the full price. You don't actually have to pay it."

"I don't need him to buy me snacks!" Sanji snapped at him, "Your prices are ten times what they were before the first round!"

"Different prices for different rounds," the Foxy snack vendor insisted. "If you don't like my prices and you don't want to put it on your buddy's tab, then don't buy it."

"Gimme fifty percent off!" Sanji bartered.

"Get outta here, you!" the Foxy snack vendor argued.

**-x-**

"WHOOOAAA!" Luffy and Usopp gasped as their guide opened the door to a dressing room. The room was filled with shelves of boxing gloves, racks of costumes, countless wigs and all sorts of other over-the-top accessories.

"What's all that stuff?" Luffy asked.

"This is the dressing room," their guide answered, "You gotta wear boxing gloves but petty much anything else goes."

"This… is… awesome!" Luffy gushed as he wandered wide-eyed into the room.

Usopp grinned as he sifted through a rack of costumes, "This place is more like a costume shop than a dressing room, you know?"

"Man, I can't pick a favorite," Luffy confessed as he took off his straw hat and stared at the wide assortment of wigs. "Do you think it would be a problem if I just wore all of it at once?"

"Ah…" Usopp gaped in shock as his eyes fell on a big black wig. He walked to it in a trance.

"Hey, what about this?" Luffy asked as he tried on a silly hat. "Am I cool now?"

"No…" Usopp told him as he grabbed onto a big black Afro, "This is it!"

That was when Ricky walked in. "Hey guys, you find your stuff?"

"RICKY! LOOK AT ALL THIS!" Luffy exclaimed. "There's so much stuff! OH! You could find a new hat! You're still the only one of us that doesn't have one! Even Chopper has a hat!"

"You mean you don't like the beret?" Ricky asked as he reached up towards the white beret that he'd gotten from the White Berets.

"That's their hat," Luffy told him, "You need to find something that's _your _hat. You don't wear that cowboy hat anymore so you need to find a new one."

"Right…" Ricky said, "So… what are _you _wearing?"

"THIS!" Usopp called out as he turned around and held up the big fluffy Afro.

Ricky raised an eyebrow. "I see," he remarked, "Well if we're going to be dressing in silly outfits I guess I might as well join in. Luffy's allowed to have two handlers. Do you wanna be coach or manager, Usopp?"

"Coach sounds like more fun," Usopp admitted.

"Right then," Ricky said as he made his way over to the costume rack, "If we're going to dress over-the-top we might as well go all-in."

**-x-**

**BLOOM! BLOOM! BLOOM! **Fireworks exploded overhead as the main event drew closer.

"_**THAT MEANS THE PREPARATIONS ARE COMPLETE. SO IF THE OPENING ENTERTAINMENT COULD PLEASE LEAVE THE STAGE…"**_

The two Foxy Pirates that had been boxing on the fox figurehead of the Sexy Foxy jumped off.

"_**THANK YOOUU! AND NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE MAIN EVENT! THE FIGHTERS ARE IN PLACE AND THE BELL IS READY TO SOUND."**_

"YEAAH!" the Foxy Pirates cheered.

**BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! **A volley of cannons went off.

"_**GRAB A SEAT IN THE SPECTATOR STANDS BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!"**_

Sanji glared at the popcorn vendor and slapped a large wad of money on the counter then ran off towards the stands.

"NAAAMIII!" Sanji called out as he walked along the stands in search of the female Straw Hats. And maybe those other guys. "ROOBIIIN! I'M HERE! WHERE ARE YOU!"

**WHUMP! **Sanji tripped and crashed down to the floor. The cook looked up to see that he'd tripped over Zoro. Nami, Chopper and Robin were all sitting with him in the front row.

"You took all that time just to get one bucket of popcorn?" Zoro asked. "Those two came back with more than that in half the time."

Sanji looked to the side and saw that Robin and Chopper were loaded up with snacks. Chopper was still wearing his soda hat and had no less than ten sticks of cotton candy stuck in his popcorn bucket. This made the reindeer's bucket look like a small cherry blossom tree. The only downside to all that fluffy sugar was that the reindeer couldn't see over it.

"Now that's odd," Robin remarked as a dark shadow fell over the stands. The Straw Hats looked up to see that a cover of dark clouds were the source. "It got cloudy all-of-a-sudden."

"It's been sunny all day," Nami admitted.

**CLICK! CLICK! **Two sets of bright flood lights went on and Luffy and Foxy's wanted posters were suddenly projected up onto the dark cloud cover.

"_**TODAY WE HAVE A REAL TREAT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. IT'S A CAPTAIN VERSUS CAPTAIN SHOWDOWN! FIRST, COMING OUT OF THE LEFT EAR, WE HAVE OUR REIGNING DAVY BACK CHAMPION…"**_

Fog spilled out of the Sexy Foxy fox figurehead's left ear. Foxy stood in a purple cloak instead of his signature coat and had three Foxy Pirate backup dancers behind him.

"_**A MAN AMONG MEN WHO NEVER TURNS DOWN FROM A CHALLENGE AND BOASTS A LEGENDARY PERSONAL COMBAT RECORD OF NINE HUNDRED TWENTY WINS AND ZERO LOSSES!"**_

"Idiot lost to us didn't he," Nami muttered while Zoro and Sanji fought next to her.

"_**GIVE IT UP FOR OUR ONE AND ONLY BOSS! THE SILVER FOX… FOXY!"**_

**FWIP! **Foxy darted out of the fog and threw off his cloak to reveal his fighting gear. Which was really just his usual yellow pants and his girdle. All that was missing was his coat and he had merely added elbow pads and blue boxing gloves to his outfit.

"YEEEEAAAAHHHHHH!"The Foxy Pirates loudly cheered for their beloved Captain.

**-x-**

Inside the Sexy Foxy, Luffy, Ricky and Usopp made their way down a hallway so they could come out from the Sexy Foxy figurehead's right ear.

First came Manager Ricky, he was wearing a long black leather trench coat that was open to reveal a black tank top and a pair of red pants that were decorated with black studs along the waist and the seams. He had swapped out the black laces on his usual boots for red ones and completed the outfit with a red bucket hat and a big pair of red sunglasses.

Next was Coach Usopp who was walking alongside Luffy. He was wearing Luffy's straw hat with his unused goggles on top of it. Instead of his normal overalls, Usopp wore a gaudy yellow jacket with multicolored streamers hanging down from his arms along with a baggy pair of pants that had one yellow leg and one purple leg. The outfit was completed by a pair of silver sunglasses with one yellow lens and one purple lens, a red towel over his neck and a whistle.

Finally there was Luffy but his outfit was concealed by a long white cloak with a hood.

"You listen up Luffy, and you listen good," Usopp said in a deep raspy voice.

"What's with the Randy Savage impression?" Ricky asked.

"Shut it!" Usopp snapped. "Luffy, you ain't your old self no more. You put that boy tah bed. Now you've gone an' woken up a mahn. Just like that hair-style has woken up your wihld sihde. Since the dawn of time mahn has wondered if the champion makes the afro or the afro makes the champion. But that's a question that even modern science can't answer. Listen, with that afro on your head your fists are weapons of mass-destruction. Your punch will become unstoppable."

"Alright, coach, let's rock," Luffy replied.

"No Luffy," Ricky corrected him, "The proper response to all that is 'Oooh yeah'."

"OOOH YEEEAAH!" Luffy and Usopp chorused.

Ricky stopped and held his arm out in front of Luffy and Usopp to prevent them from walking out from the ear. "Now let me give you some useful advice. Foxy's gonna be all over you with his Slow Slow Beam. You're going to have to try to avoid it. I learned during the Roller Race that his beam bounces off of reflective surfaces. So watch out for mirrors or anything shiny. Remember, if Foxy can bounce his beam off of it, so can you."

Luffy nodded under his hood.

"This is the last round," Ricky continued, "That means we're playing for keeps. If you lose, one of your Nakama will be gone for good. So that means you _can't _lose this fight. You can't let anything stop you. Foxy can't throw anything worse at you than what Crocodile did. So there's no way that he can keep you down. You trust in that afro and your newfound manliness and you keep going until you send that stupid split-head flying off the ship, got it?"

Luffy nodded again, "I won't lose."

"Good," Ricky said, "Now let me work my magic and make sure you get a proper introduction."

**-x-**

"_**AND IN THE RIGHT EAR, THE CHALLENGER FROM THE EAST BLUE WITH A CREW OF ONLY EIGHT PIRATES BUT A HUNDRED MILLION BERRIES BOUNTY… THE RUBBER WONDER…" **_Itomimizu trailed off when he saw that Luffy wasn't coming out. Instead, Ricky walked out from the Sexy Foxy's right ear alone.

"_**HEY! WHERE'S STRAW HAT?"**_

"Hahaha!" a Foxy Pirate laughed, "Straw Hat was too scared to show up!"

"What the heck is he wearing?" Nami wondered.

"_**WHAT'S THE MATTER?" **_Itomimizu taunted Ricky as the First Mate walked towards him. _**"DID YOU COME TO TELL US THAT STRAW HAT GOT SCARED AND HAS DECIDED TO FORFEIT? THAT'S UNDERSTANDABLE WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT HE'S GOING UP AGAINST THE AMAZING FOXY!"**_

"Javelin… KICK!" **THWAK! **Ricky shot his leg out and kicked Itomimizu right in the jaw. The loud mouth went flying off of Chirp Chirp and crashed down to the figurehead in a heap. Ricky jumped up onto Chirp Chirp's back and picked up the abandoned Transponder Snail receiver.

"_**Ladies and gentlemen, I am 'One Eye' Ricky and I am the one behind the one in nine hundred twenty and one. I commandeered this bird again so I could introduce you to my Captain, 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy."**_

Ricky pointed to the Sexy Foxy's right ear where Luffy and Usopp had finally emerged.

"I guess they're all wearing weird outfits," Sanji noted as he eyed Usopp's gaudy outfit.

"Now I'm almost worried about Luffy's," Zoro admitted.

"_**But this is no ordinary pirate," **_Ricky continued,_** "This is the man who CONQUERED the East Blue. This is the pirate who made Buggy the Clown look like a fool TWICE. This man cracked and crushed the mighty Don Krieg. This is the man that escaped the grasp of the tenacious Marine Captain 'White Chase' Smoker."**_

"_**But he didn't stop with just the East Blue. Monkey D. Luffy is already on his way to conquering the Grand Line. He defeated the Warlord Sir Crocodile IN THE DESERT. He silenced Bellamy the Hyena with just one punch. And if that wasn't enough, he traveled up to the Sky Island and he brought their God to his knees." **_

"_**Foxy 'the Silver Fox' may claim to be undefeated in Captain's Fights but that's only because he has never faced anyone like Monkey D. Luffy. My Captain will test Foxy like no one ever has before. We will take every single one of Foxy's dirty tricks HEAD ON and keep on swinging. He can not be stopped, he WILL NOT be stopped. Foxy 'the Silver Fox' prepare to be CONQUERED by the uncrowned future King of the Pirates… MONKEY… D… LUFFY!"**_

"YEAH LUFFY!" Zoro, Nami, Sanji and Chopper all cheered from the stands.

"YEAH STRAW HAT!" a small group of Foxy Pirates couldn't help cheering.

"YEEAAAH!" Luffy shouted as he threw off his cloak to finally reveal his outfit.

Luffy wore red boxing gloves, elbow pads and red shorts. He was shirtless and had a blue flaming skull and crossbones painted on his chest. But what really stood out with the outfit was the huge black Afro wig that Luffy wore on his head.

"AH!" the Straw Hats all gasped in surprise at their Captain's outfit while the Foxy Pirates actually let out a loud cheer. "YEEAH!"

"YEAH! LOOKING SHARP BUDDY!" Sanji cheered.

"That's messed up," Zoro grumbled.

"Wow! Luffy's cooler than ever!" Chopper gushed with stars in his eyes.

"Fufufu," Robin laughed, "It's charming."

"Charming?" Nami repeated as she looked over at the older woman with a raised eyebrow. "You think _Luffy _is charming?"

Robin turned and coolly regarded the navigator, "I don't think you're in any position to judge."

"**Both fighters have entered the battlefield and now we're ready to rumble!" **Ricky announced. **"Luffy has traded in his straw hat for a mighty Afro that'll give him the extra power he needs to protect his treasured Nakama! And here's a spoiler Foxy Crew, your Captain's streak is about to be broken in this final round of the Davy Back Fight! But first… a word from our sponsors…"**

**-x-**

**Captain's Fight:**

**-x-**

The cloud cover cleared and light shined down on the Sexy Foxy figurehead.

Luffy stood proudly before Foxy with his new afro and flaming blue skull body paint.

"HEY STRAW HAT! I'M REALLY DIGGING THE NEW LOOK!" a Foxy Pirate called out. Then he went wide-eyed and clamped his hands over his mouth. "I mean… YOU SUCK!"

"Whoa!" Sanji exclaimed, "His soul is burning red hot!"

"This is what happens when you leave Luffy alone with Usopp," Zoro complained.

"And Ricky didn't even stop them…" Nami mumbled. "Couldn't they at least _try _to show some dignity for once?"

"Hey, not too shabby," Foxy remarked as he eyed Luffy's new outfit. "Sometimes you've gotta unleash the beast to win. Not that you have any chance against me!"

"Ahahaha! I wouldn't act so cocky if I were you, 'champ'!" Usopp taunted in his new deep raspy almost _Macho _voice, "This beast hasn't been fed! He's liable to bite your head off if you don't watch out!"

"_**ALRIGHT! THAT'S ENOUGH!" **_Itomimizu snapped as he sat up and pulled out a new Transponder Snail Handset. _**"MANAGER, COACH, GET OUTTA HERE!"**_

"But how am I supposed to be his coach if I'm not here?" Usopp protested in his normal voice.

"_**MANAGER! COACH! OUT!" **_Itomimizu insisted.

"**Maybe I wanna provide color commentary again," **Ricky offered.

"_**BEGONE, BIRD-STEALER!"**_

"Whatever," Ricky grunted as he dropped the handset and got off the bird. "Kick his ass Luffy." Ricky, Usopp and Foxy's three backup dancers all left the figurehead.

"_**AND SINCE I'M NOT NEEDED HERE EITHER, I'LL BE ON MY MERRY WAY!" **_Itomimizu climbed back on Chirp Chrip's back and took off. **SWOOSH! **_**"LET'S GET THIS THING STARTED!"**_

**CHUNK! **The spectator stands lurched and slowly started to rise up into the air on two large metal support columns. **SHOOOOM!**

"Ah! What the!" Nami sputtered, "The stands are moving!"

"Whoa… cool!" Luffy remarked as he watched the stands rise up over his head. "I've gotta get chairs like that on my ship."

"Fehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed, "Now then Luffy, what do you say you and I have a little fun? This whole ship is our playground, after-all. Feel free to go as wild as you like. Don't worry, we have plenty of skilled shipwrights to clean up after our mess. FEHFEHFEHFEHFEH!"

Luffy looked over the large deck of the Sexy Foxy. The front and back of the deck were raised up and there was a large circular platform in the middle of the deck. Two wooden walkways connected the circular platform to the front and back deck. Stairs let up to all three of the raised portions but also let down below deck where Foxy no-doubt had a bunch of special toys hidden.

"_**NOW THE OPPONENTS FACE OFF ATOP THE FABULOUS FIGUREHEAD OF THE SEXY FOXY! WHICH WAS CHOSEN BY COINCIDENCE OF COURSE! WHAT KIND OF FEARSOME FLYING FISTS WILL BE UNFURLED TODAY?"**_

"GET 'IM BOSS!" a Foxy Pirate cheered.

"You can't let that winning streak stop now!" another one called out/

"LUFFY, DON'T LOSE!" Sanji shouted, "THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS!"

"AND WATCH OUT FOR HIS BEAM!" Nami yelled.

"_**EXCITEMENT FILLS THE STANDS IN THE FINAL SECONDS BEFORE THE MATCH. IT'S PLUNDER OR BE PLUNDERED. THIS IS THE LAST ROUND! WHOEVER GETS CHOSEN AS THE PRIZE IS GONE FOREVER!"**_

"LUUUUFFYYYYYYY!" Chopper hollered.

"GO BOSS!" a pair of Foxy Pirates shouted over him.

"_**IT'S THE SILVER SLOW-SLOW SLUGGER VERSUS THE GUM-GUM GATLING GUN! THIS IS A ONE-ROUND BOUT WITH NO TIME LIMIT. AS LONG AS THEY STAY IN BOUNDS, ANYTHING GOES! THE FIGHTERS ARE READY!"**_

**DING-DING! **Somewhere a bell rang and signaled the start of the fight.

"YYYEEEAAAAHH!" the crowd cheered.

"_**AND THERE GOES THE BELL!"**_

**SHOOOM! **Luffy shot his arm out behind him, "GUUUM… GUUUM…"

"SLOW SLOW BEAM!"

"PISTOL!" Foxy jumped out of the way and his purple beam hit Luffy's fist. **FWOOOSH! **

"Whaaa!" Luffy gasped as he extended arm wiggled at full speed while his fist slowly drifted forward. "My arm is fast but my fist is all slow! Gah!"

"You don't expect me to be afraid of a rubber hose, do you?" Foxy taunted as he eyed Luffy's wiggling rubber arm.

"Gimme a sec…" Luffy said as grabbed his flailing arm and attempted to get it under control. "Come back!" **SHOOM! **Luffy yanked on his arm but instead of his arm retracting, his body shot forward to join his extended fist. "WAAAAH!"

Foxy pointed his gloves down at Luffy, "Slow… Slow… Beam…"

**SKISH! **Luffy shot himself up into the air and flipped over his still-frozen fist.

"FEHFEHFEH! FOOLED YA!" Foxy remarked. He quickly pointed up at Luffy who was now caught in midair. "SLOW SLOW BEAM!" **FWOOOOSH! **Luffy's entire body was struck by the beam and he was left hanging frozen in midair.

"LUFFY!" Sanji called out in concern as they watched their captain slowly flip over for what would have been a high-speed flip.

"Wow, he's floating," Zoro noted. "I guess that means he falls slow too."

"I told him to watch out for that!" Nami exclaimed, "Why won't he listen?"

"Hahahaha! Talk about pathetic!" a Foxy Pirate laughed.

"Come on, Boss!" the pirate next to him called out, "Put him out of his misery!"

**FWIP! **A popcorn bucket and a soda from the row above were suddenly dumped on their heads by a pair of arms that had appeared out of nowhere. **Clunk!**

"Ooooooooohhhhhh… nnnooooooooo…" Luffy called out.

"Fehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed as he looked up at Luffy, "I know there's no time limit but, come on! Why don't you spare us both and just give up?"

"Nnnnnoooooooo…" **SKISH! **Foxy jumped up onto the floating Luffy's chest before he could even finish one word. "Wwwwwaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy…"

"NINE-TAILED RUSH!" Foxy lashed out with both hands and delivered a rapid flurry of punches to Luffy's unprotected face. **POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW!**

"_**OH! THE BOSS UNLEASHES HIS SIGNATURE ATTACK RIGHT OFF THE BAT! STRAW HAT HIS HELPLESS TO FIGHT BACK!"**_

**POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW! **Foxy continued to freely pummel Luffy's face. The rubber pirate was frozen in place so he wasn't even able to recoil from the unrelenting barrage of punches.

"This is crazy!" Sanji realized, "He's not budging an inch!"

"No, look closely," Zoro instructed as two beads of sweat slowly dropped off of Luffy's body. "He's just moving in slow motion."

Foxy stopped his assault as Luffy's cheek finally started to sink in from the multitude of blows that Foxy had dealt to it.

**SKISH! **Foxy jumped off of Luffy and landed on the figurehead.

"Consider that a preview of what's to come!" Foxy taunted. "Though, to your credit, it seems like you can take a punch pretty well. Fortunately I've got plenty of other tricks up my sleeve." Foxy walked off and left Luffy hanging behind him.

"Coooooooommmmmeeeee… baaaaaaaacckk… hhheeeeeeeerrrreeeeee…"

"Well, your thirty seconds are about up," Foxy announced.

**BOOM! **Luffy's body hit the ground and started to thrash back and forth as he finally recoiled from the fifty-plus punches that he had been hit with.

"ALL AT ONCE!" Chopper gasped.

"The beam wore off," Robin pointed, "But now he's falling overboard!"

Luffy's thrashing body rolled to the side and he dropped off of the figurehead.

"LUUUUFFYYYYY!" Chopper screamed.

**SHOOOOM! **Luffy shot his arm up and grabbed onto the figurehead's left ear. **WOING! **Luffy's feet touched the water before he shot back up and landed on top of the figurehead.

"Huff… huff…" Luffy panted. "That Slow Slow Beam is gonna give me more trouble than I thought. I've gotta be more careful where I stretch my arms now. But beams sure are cool." Luffy looked up and saw that the figurehead was deserted. So was the main deck. "Where'd that jerk run off to anyway?"

Luffy ran and shouted into the Sexy Foxy's right ear, "I WON'T LET YOU SNEAK UP ON MY WITH YOUR BEAM SPLIT-HEAD!" He ran from the right ear to the left one. "COME OUT AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN!" **THWHAM! **Luffy lashed out his leg and kicked the left ear clean off of the figurehead.

"_**I UNDERSTAND YOUR FRUSTRATION, BUT DON'T TAKE IT OUT ON THE EARS!"**_

Luffy jumped off of the figurehead and landed on the raised from of the main deck. He scanned the circular platform and the lower portions of the deck for any sign of his elusive opponent. But Foxy was nowhere in sight.

"WAH!" Luffy eyes widened at what he did spot. Six arrows were slowly drifting towards him. "Did he… use his be-AAAH!" **SWISH-SWISH-SWISH! **Luffy frantically ducked as the arrows suddenly sped up and whizzed at him in mid-sentence. **Shnk-shnk-shnk-shnk-shnk! **The arrows stank into the back of the figurehead behind him.

"**Fehfehfehfeh!"** Foxy laughed as he slowly floated up from the lower portion of the main deck. "Welcome to the Sexy Foxy, rubber boy!"

"Dirty trick!" Luffy growled as he stood back up. "WAAH! I'M HIT!" He looked up to see an arrow sticking out of his Afro and quickly pulled it out.

"Just calm down for a second, well ya?" Foxy asked, "Can't you see I'm trying to show you some hospitality here?" Foxy floated up above the railing and revealed that he was riding on a slowly-rising cannonball that he'd hit with his Slow Slow Beam.

"Those cannonballs are moving in slow-mo too," Luffy realized as he ran at the railing, "Well if you can ride on one… SO CAN I!" **SKISH! **Luffy jumped off of the railing and launched himself at the dozen cannonballs that were floating below him.

"Careful kid," Foxy called out as Luffy dropped towards a cannonball, "I wouldn't touch that one if I were you."

**SWISH! **The cannonball that Luffy had been about to jump onto suddenly sped up and plowed into the deck. **BOOOM! **

Luffy fell but managed to grab another cannonball with is gloves. **WHAP!**

"I wouldn't touch that one either," Foxy advised.

**SWISH! **"WAAAH!"The cannonball sped up and pulled Luffy through the air with it until it smashed into a staircase that led down from the front of the main deck. **BOOOOOOM!**

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed, "Can't say I didn't warn you!" **SKISH! **Foxy jumped off of the cannonball that he had been riding on and landed on the raised circular platform.

**SWISH! **Foxy's cannonball sped up and shot straight up into the air, nearly blowing up Chirp Chirp in the process.

**CHIIRRP! **The Super Sparrow let out a shrill squawk as it weaved to avoid the cannonball and quickly flew away from the ship.

**SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! **The other slowly floating cannonballs sped up and bombarded the deck of the Sexy Foxy as they blasted through the walls and floor. **BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOM!**

"What was that?" Nami wondered. Up in the stands, their view of the lower part of the deck was blocked so all they could hear was a bunch of explosions going off on the deck. "I can't make out anything from where we're sitting."

Nami stood up and turned around, "Hey you! Foxy Pirates in the top row!" she called out. "Can you tell what's going on from up there?"

"Uh, no," a Foxy Pirate admitted, "All we can see is smoke. It's probably the Boss blowing your puny Captain to bits."

Nami turned back to the Sexy Foxy and noted that the explosions had finally stopped.

"Uugghh…" Luffy groaned as he laid in the debris from the destroyed stairs. "This sucks! What's his problem anyway? If he keeps this up he's gonna sink his own ship."

**Clunk! **A wash pan dropped down from overhead and hit Luffy on the head. But most of the impact was cushioned by Luffy's Afro.

"I'LL SINK YOU FIRST!" Foxy shouted from up on the raised deck above Luffy. "SLOW SLOW FOXY FACE BOMB CANNON!" **BOOOM! **Foxy fired a cannon with an odd-shaped barrel.

**FEH! FEH! FEH! **A collection of slow-moving Foxy heads came out of the cannon and flew down towards Luffy.

"WAAAH! CREEPY!" Luffy shouted as he saw over two dozen Foxy heads float towards him. He stepped to the side and easily avoided the Foxy Faces. "Huh? Oh… they're like my pin. But these are sure bigger than the one I bought."

"Of course we're bigger, stupid!" one of the Foxy Faces berated Luffy as it passed him, "That's because we're bombs, not pins!"

"What? Did you say bombs?" Luffy asked the Foxy Head… which had a body attached to it. "Huh? WHY IS A BOMB TALKING?"

"I'M THE REAL THING! THAT'S WHY!" Foxy shouted from behind Luffy as he swung a spiked glove at him. Luffy turned just in time to get blasted in the face. **KA-POW! **Luffy went flying across the deck and slammed into the other staircase.

"Uuggghhh…" Luffy groaned as he started to sit up.

"My punches weren't quite doing the trick," Foxy explained as he showed off his new spiked boxing gloves. "So I upgraded my gloves, see?" Foxy turned and started to walk away. "Oh, and fair warning, those bombs are about to go off. FEHFEHFEHFEH!"

"Come on Luffy!" Usopp called out from the front of the spectator stands, "Give him a body blow! Body Blow!"

"Are you just calling random things out now?" Ricky asked as he peered through a set of binoculars.

"Oh, there you are," Zoro said as he looked up and founded the two other strangely dressed Straw Hats standing right near them.

"What's going on with the fight down there?" Nami asked. "Can you guys see anything?"

"Uh, I don't have a clue," Usopp admitted.

"Yup, can't see a thing," Ricky added.

"Are you kidding me?" Nami complained.

**FEH! FEH! FEH! **Luffy eyes widened at the nightmarish sight of a dozen floating Foxy Faces coming towards him.

**KA-BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOM!**

The crowd gasp as the Sexy Foxy was rocked by another series of loud explosions.

"Oh no!" Chopper exclaimed, "That looks bad!"

**-x-**

In Luffy's dressing room, the gold Foxy pin on Luffy's discarded red vest let out a shrill laugh. **"Feh… feh… feh… feh…"**

**-x-**

**Into the Ship:**

**-x-**

"_**A SERIES OF POWERFUL EXPLOSIONS HAVE ROCKED OUR SHIP! THE LIKELY CAUSE WAS SOME FOXY MERCHANDISE THAT SO HAPPENS TO BE EXPLOSIVE." **_

"All this cheating just so happens to be pissing me off!" Nami snapped. "No wonder that jerk's never lost a match!"

"Actually, that's perfectly legal," Ricky said, "Even if they were actual bombs. The ship is the battlefield so Foxy is allowed to use anything he finds on it as a weapon."

"Oh yeah?" Usopp countered, "Well, what _wasn't _legal was the way the cannon spun around on its own so it was pointed right at Foxy's ship! Foxy knows everything that's on his ship. He's got the home field advantage."

Ricky shook his head, "If a bunch of bombs could beat Luffy we would've never made it off of Little Garden. He's still in this."

"Big Brother, we got you snacks!" Chopper announced as he motioned to one of the popcorn bags beside Robin. "Have a seat!" Chopper slid closer to Robin while Nami smiled faintly and moved closer to Sanji so she could make room.

Ricky sat down in between Chopper and Nami then took the bag of popcorn and soda that Robin handed him. He briefly eyes Chopper's tree of cotton candy. "I can see you've got enough to make it through the fight."

"Luffy's gonna win, so that means it's free!" Chopper insisted.

"That's the spirit," Ricky replied as he plucked a piece of popcorn from his bag.

"Hey, where am I supposed to sit?" Usopp asked.

Zoro turned to the Foxy Pirate next to him, "Move over," he growled.

"Yes sir!" the Foxy Pirate and the three pirates next to him all squeaked. Suddenly there was enough room for three Usopps next to Zoro. The sniper shrugged and took his seat.

"_**USING HIS SURROUNDINGS TO HIS ADVANTAGE, OUR BOSS SLAMS STRAW HAT WITH A STRATEGICALLY PLACED CANNON ATTACK. ALL I CAN SEE IS SMOKE. WAS STRAW HAT BLOWN TO SMITHEREENS?" **_

Chirp Chirp flew over the ship as Itomimizu peered down of the side.

"**Phew, that was a close one,"** came a familiar voice from next to the loud mouth announcer.

"_**IT SURE WAS. FOXY'S ONSLAUGHT WAS… GAAAH!" **_Itomimizu turned to the side and saw Luffy perched on top of the sail. _**"WHAAAAAAAAT?"**_

"Shut up, you're annoying!" Luffy complained.

"Oh, there he is!" Ricky observed as he peered through his binoculars at the Captain.

"Where?" Nami demanded as she grabbed Ricky's binoculars and pulled them towards her.

"Hey! Don't pull!" Ricky complained as he the neck strap yanked him closer to Nami.

"Don't be a baby!" Nami scolded him, "You've got one eye. You don't even need both sides." Nami stared through one side of the binoculars while Ricky leaned closer to her and looked through the other side. The two of them were practically cheek-to-cheek much to the amusement of Robin and the disappointment of Sanji.

"_**IT'S A MIRACLE! STRAW HAT LUFFY IS ALIVE! HE SOMEHOW EVADED THE EXPLOSIVE ATTACK AT POINT-BLANK RANGE! WHAT AMAZING SPEED! THE ONE HUNDRED MILLION BERRIES WONDER-BOY IS TRULY A THING OF WONDER!"**_

"Oh yeah!" Usopp cheered, "That's the power of the 'fro!"

"Hurry it up Luffy!" Sanji called out.

"I wasn't worried," Chopper insisted as he puffed up his chest then took a huge bite from one of his cotton candy sticks.

**SKISH! **Luffy jumped off of the sail and landed on top the raised circular platform. He scanned the smoke for any sign of Foxy.

"**FEHFEHFEHFEHFEH!" **a familiar laugh sounded through the smoke.

"_**UH-OH! IT LOOKS LIKE OUR BOSS' NEXT ATTACK IS ALREADY UNDERWAY! WHAT COULD HE BE PLOTTING THIS TIME?"**_

"**FEHFEHFEHFEHFEH!"**

Luffy ran to the railing and stared off the platform at the smoky deck below.

"_**THE SNEAKY FOXY LET'S OUT AN UNSETTLING LAUGH FROM BEHIND A THICK SCREEN OF SMOKE. MEANWHILE, STRAW HAT STARES CLUELESSLY INTO THE ABYSS. THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME! WHERE IS OUR BOSS HIDING?"**_

"Ah!" Luffy gasped when he spotted a familiar split-headed silhouette in the smoke.

"_**IS THAT HIM?"**_

The smoke finally shifted to reveal Foxy… who had been blown up by his own bombs.

"So… how'd you like that?" Foxy groaned, "Had enough?"

"YOU GOT BLOWN UP TWICE AS BAD AS ME!" Luffy shouted down at him.

"SHUT UP, I'M FINE!" Foxy insisted. "SEE? LOOK!"

"YOU DON'T LOOK FINE AT ALL!" Luffy hollered back.

"I don't even want you on my crew anymore!" Foxy snapped, "I'd rather just crush you! SLOW SLOW BEAM…" **SKISH! **Luffy vaulted over the railing and landed on the deck behind Foxy. The startled Foxy looked back over his shoulder, "Huh?"

"GUM… GUM… HOOK!" Luffy shot his arm out and swung his fist around into Foxy's back. **POW! **Foxy gasped as bent backwards around Luffy's fist. "I'm gonna break your arm so you can't hit me with those dumb beams!"

"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!" Foxy snapped. Before he turn and ran away into the still lingering thick cloud of smoke.

"Does this guy wanna fight or not?" Luffy wondered.

"**FEHFEHFEHFEHFEH!" **Foxy's laugh echoed through the smoke.

Luffy's eyes narrowed as he spotted movement. He quickly spun and lashed out his fist. "There you are!" **POW! **Luffy shot his fist into the smoke and smashed it into… a wooden cut out. "Huh? It was just a cutout?"

"**SLOW SLOW BEAM!" **Luffy heard Foxy shout then saw the purple beam coming and quickly jumped out of the way. **SKISH!**

Luffy recovered from his dive and saw a split-headed silhouette in the smoke. Then another one. Then another one. And another ten. He was surrounded by foxy cutouts.

"**FEHFEHFEHFEHFEH!" **Foxy laughed through the smoke. **"Now what? Huh? Which one is the real me? Which direction will the beam come from?"**

"How should I know?" Luffy retorted, "They all look the same! Just a bunch of split-heads with stupid-looking haircuts!"

"Stupid-looking split-head?" Foxy repeated as he dropped to the ground and moped.

Luffy saw one of the silhouettes drop to the ground. "THAT ONE!" **SHOOM! **Luffy shot his fist into the smoke and drove his glove into the real Foxy's face. **POW!** Foxy went flying and slammed into the wall that was right behind him. **KRASH!**

"YOU JERK!" Foxy shouted as he popped back up, "I MAY BE A CHEATER BUT AT LEAST I'M NOT HEARTLESS! YOU'RE IN FOR IT NOW! LOOK UP!"

Luffy looked up where Foxy pointed.

"Hah! Sucker!" Foxy taunted as he pulled a lever. **Chuck! **A trapdoor opened underneath Luffy.

"WAAH!" Luffy yelped before he dropped down through the trapdoor.

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed as he stared down through the opening after Luffy.

"Damn it, a trapdoor!" Luffy cursed as he stood back up.

"That's what you get for keeping your head in the clouds!" Foxy taunted.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO TOLD ME TO LOOK UP IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

"Fehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed, "So I did. Better look down too!"

Luffy looked down to see that he was standing on some kind of conveyor belt. But before he could react, the belt started to move and carried Luffy along a narrow hallway.

"WHY IS THE FLOOR MOVING?" Luffy shouted as he ran backwards on the belt but was still carried onward. "STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP!"

**SHOOP! **A flap opened on the side of the Sexy Foxy and the convey belt spat Luffy out through the open hole.

"WAAAH!" Luffy screamed as he struggled to keep from falling out of bounds.

"Look! It's Luffy!" Usopp pointed out.

"If he falls in the water, he's done for!" Nami realized, "COME ON! YOU CAN'T LET THE FIGHT END THIS WAY!"

**SHOOOM! **Luffy stretched his arm up and grabbed onto the railing of the Sexy Foxy. "You think you can get rid of me that easy?" **WOING! **Luffy shot himself up into the air and onto the railing of the ship.

"That was a close call," a Foxy Pirate noted.

"It wouldn't be any fun if the Captain ended it right off the bat," another added.

"HANG IN THERE STRAW HAT!" a third Foxy Pirate shouted. "AFRO POWER!"

"This ship's a pain in the butt," Luffy complained. "What gives?" Luffy stared around the deck and realized that it was empty. "HEY, SPLIT-HEAD! WHERE'D YOU GO?"

**Feh… feh… feh… **A gold Foxy face pin laughed from where it was mounted on an open door.

"_**WHAT HAVE WE HERE? STRAW HAT'S NARROW ESCAPE DIDN'T SEEM TO IMPRESS THAT FOXY PIN. YOU MIGHT EVEN SAY ITS LAUGHING AT HIM."**_

"Oh, so there you are!" Luffy realized.

"_**THE CABIN OF THE SHIP IS FOXY'S PLAYGROUND! WILL LUFFY BE LURED INSIDE?"**_

"HOLD ON LUFFY!" Nami called out. "IT'S A TRAP! DON'T GO IN THAT SHIP!"

Luffy jumped off the railing and ran through the open door into the ship. "I'm gonna beat that jerk's brains out!"

**Whap! **Nami slapped herself on the forehead and groaned.

"_**STRAW HAT THROWS CAUTION TO THE WIND AND DASHES INSIDE THE SHIP! UNFORTUNATELY, THAT MEANS I CAN'T GIVE YOU PLAY-BY-PLAY ANYMORE."**_

"I'm sure we'll survive somehow," Ricky said as he ate a handful of popcorn.

"_**BUT I THINK IT'S SAFE TO ASSUME THAT WHATEVER IS GOING ON IN THERE IS COMPLETELY AMAZING!"**_

Usopp jumped up and stood on his seat, "BELIEVE! BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF THE AFRO. LUFFY!"

"Hey! Down in front!" one of the Foxy Pirates complained.

**-x-**

"Cool!" Luffy remarked as he stood inside Foxy's ship and stared at a collection of over two dozen cannons. "It's a gun deck. And it's huge too! Too bad Usopp isn't here. He'd love this. Now… where'd Foxy run off to?"

**Krek… THUD! **Luffy heard a door slam and turned to see one at the end of the hall.

"AH-HA!" Luffy exclaimed, "He's over there!"

**-x-**

Foxy panted as he leaned against the fall in a dark room. "Fehfehfeh!" he chuckled to himself. "Alright, good, he's coming after me. And now, he'll come rushing through that door like an idiot. But we'll see how chipper our little rubber boy is WHEN MY ROOM FULL OF TWO-FOOT STEEL SPIKES MAKES SWISS CHEESE OUT OF HIM! FEHFEHFEHFEHFEH!"

Foxy was perched on a small ledge but the entire room was a pit of long steel spikes.

"Come on Straw Hat!" Foxy called out, "You know you want—" **BOOOOM! **The wall exploded inward and a huge cannonball slammed into Foxy's back. The big cannonball dropped down onto the spikes while the paper-thin Foxy drifted down and landed on the ball, narrowly managing to avoid getting skewered on his own spike trap in the process.

Luffy stood in the gun deck next to a smoking cannon as he stared through the hole that he'd blasted in the wall. "Hey, it's him! Wow. I wonder what that room's used for."

"WHAT KIND OF MONSTER FIRES OFF CANNONS IN SOMEONE ELSE'S SHIP?" Foxy shrieked at him. Foxy stood up and ran on the ball which caused it to spin and go flying back out through the hole it had blasted in the wall. **WHOOOSH!**

"At least he stopped running away," Luffy remarked as Foxy whizzed towards him. Luffy leaned to the side to avoid the huge cannonball. **THOOM! **Then quickly ducked to avoid Foxy's follow-up punch. **SWISH!**

But Foxy took the miss in stride and ran off, "I'LL SHOW YOU! JUST WAIT!"

Luffy stared after Foxy in annoyance, "Aw, no way! He's running away again!" Luffy quickly chased after Foxy. "COME BACK AND FIGHT ME!"

**-x-**

"Huff… huff…" Foxy panted as he slammed the door to the infirmary and leaned back against the wall. "Doesn't he have any common sense? Honestly! I've had enough of this! Foxy Face Transformation!"

An imaginary smoke cloud kicked up as Foxy slipped into a disguise.

**BANG! **Luffy raced through the door to the infirmary a couple seconds later. "I'VE GOT YOU NOW!"

Luffy blinked as he stared at a big-headed lady doctor. Her hair laid flat on her head and her face was pale like it was some kind of really bad mask. She wore a white doctor's coat, make up and high heels which showed off her hairy man-legs. Her mouth was shaped like Foxy's, her long red nose was shaped like Foxy's, and she even wore spiked blue boxing gloves like Foxy's.

"Dear me!" the nurse remarked in a high-pitched voice, "Are you ill? Tell me where it hurts and I'll fix it. Is it your head? Is that it? Are you sick in the head?"

"Wait a sec… did you see someone else come through here?" Luffy asked the doctor.

"Why no!" she answered, "I didn't see a soul. But never mind that, you broke something, didn't you? Was it your face?"

Luffy stared wide-eyed at the doctor. Was she insulting him? Nah! Luffy turned and left the infirmary. "I could've sworn I saw him go in there. Hold on! That weird lady! She looked just like him!"

Luffy pictured the ugly looking lady doctor then he pictured Foxy.

"I GET IT!" Luffy exclaimed as he shot back through the infirmary door, "HEY! YOU MUST BE FOXY'S SISTER! YOU CAN'T FOOL ME!"

"COUNTER FOX TRAP GLOVE!" Foxy lashed out at Luffy with a metal fox on his boxing glove. **CHOMP! **The fox's mouth bit down on Luffy's face like a snap trap and he reeled back in surprise which allowed Foxy to run passed him. "FEHFEHFEH! IMBECILE!"

"What the heck… is this?" Luffy complained as he yanked the metal fox head off of his face then tossed it aside. "Oh! So that's it! She lied to me so I wouldn't find her brother! IS HE EVEN TRYING TO FIGHT ANYMORE?"

Luffy ran down the hallway and chased Foxy down another flight of stairs. This time Luffy came down to one of his favorite rooms. "AH! THE KITCHEN!"

"I slice the fish-a what do you know!" a cook with a big round mask-like head sang as he cut a fish on the counter. He wore an apron and yellow pants that were the same color as Foxy's. He had a long red nose just like Foxy's and wore spiked boxing gloves while he cooked just like Foxy's ugly sister. "You got some nice carpaccio!"

The ugly cook turned to look at Luffy, "Ahem, yes?"

"Have you seen some old fox-guy with a split-head that looks really stupid and not-cool?" Luffy asked the cook.

The cook dropped to his knees and moped, "You truly are heartless!" Just like Foxy always did.

"HEY! IT'S YOU!" Luffy realized.

"HAH-HAH!" Foxy laughed as he threw off his disguise. "AND I WAS THE WOMAN IN THE INFIRMARY TOO!"

"WHAT? NO WAY!" Luffy exclaimed.

"SLOW SLOW BEAM!" **FWOOSH! **Luffy was so caught up in the shocking surprise that Foxy didn't have an ugly sister that he was unable to avoid the latest blast from Foxy's beam.

"NINE-TAILED RUSH!" Foxy shouted as he lashed out and delivered another barrage of furious punches to the immobilized Luffy. But this time with is spiked gloves. **POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW! **

"Fehfehfehfeh!" Foxy laughed once he stopped his assaulted as left Luffy to slowly drifted backwards as he recoiled from the latest barrage of punches. "I didn't just happen to lure you into the kitchen! It was all part of the plan!"

Foxy walked to a garage door on the kitchen wall and pulled the lever that was next to it. **Click! **The garage door slowly raised to reveal a dark room. With two glowing yellow lights that looked like menacing monster eyes.

"That is to say, that I have a nice surprise for you once my punches take effect!" Foxy boasted as Luffy slowly stumbled back towards him and the now opened portion of the wall. "Do you want to guess what it is? It's nothing alive at least! That would be against the rules, after-all. FEHFEHFEHFEHFEH!"

"Nnnnnnoooooooooo…" Luffy slowly groaned as he continued to drift backwards towards the dark and ominous room.

**-x-**

**Slow Slow Onslaught:**

**-x-**

"In case you haven't learned yet!" Foxy taunted Luffy, "Once the effect of my Slow Slow Beam wears off, all those punches are going to hit you at once! Fehfehfehfeh!"

Foxy folded his arms across his chest and casually leaned against the wall next to the opened hole beside him as Luffy continued to drift closer.

"That's it, keep going," Foxy encouraged his helpless opponent. "You're only a couple feet away from your final resting place!" Foxy smirked, "And that's thirty seconds!"

**BOOM! **Luffy face recoiled as he was hit by Foxy's last few punches all at once and went flying through the open door into the dark room. "WAAAH!"

**THUD! **Luffy landed on a hard tiled floor and slowly pushed himself up.

"**FEHFEHFEHFEHFEH!" **Foxy's shrill laugh rang through the dark room. Luffy looked up to see that Foxy was no longer standing by the door.

"Aw, where'd he run off to now?" Luffy wondered.

"**TURN AROUND! I'M RIGHT HERE!"**

**Blink! **The two bright yellow lights flipped on again and Luffy suddenly heard a probably-imaginary guitar riff. The yellow lights were headlights but they were barely enough to light up the front of the huge contraption that Foxy was sitting on.

**CLICK! **The lights in the room turned on to reveal a huge machine with Foxy in the cockpit. Foxy was wearing some kind of jumpsuit.

"Hey, what kind of costume is that?" Luffy asked.

"It's not a costume! It's a pilot's uniform!" Foxy snapped at him. "And this… IS MY ROBOT! The Boxing Masterpiece! Carefully crafted and perfected through countless trials! LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO THE GORILLA PUNCHER #13!"

The Gorilla Puncher 13 was a huge yellow wall with twenty-five boxing gloves mounted on it. The huge machine took up the entire width of the room so there was no way for Luffy to slip passed it. Foxy sat at the top in a cockpit with the controls at his fingertips.

"THE ONLY GORILLA I SEE ON IT, IS YOU!" Luffy exclaimed.

"_IS YOU! IS YOU! IS YOU!" _Luffy's latest insult echoed through Foxy's fragile psyche.

"THEN WE'LL HAVE TO CHANGE THAT!" Foxy hollered. "GEEZ, YOU'RE SO RUDE! GORILLA PUNCHER #13! LET'S FINISH HIM!"

**WHISH! **The first boxing glove shot out and threw a punch straight in front of hit. **WHISHWHISHWHISHWHISHWHISH! **But that was just the first blow, the other fists started to piston back and forth and soon all twenty-five of the fists were delivering rapid-fire punches to the air in front of them.

**RRMMMBBB! **The Gorilla Puncher #13 rolled on tank treads as it slowly advanced on Luffy.

"How do you get that crazy thing to move anyway?" Luffy asked.

"It's a secret!" Foxy taunted him as he frantically pumped his legs on the bicycle-like pedals that moved the machine forward.

"You sure are sweating a lot," Luffy noted.

"You're seeing things," Foxy told him as he continued to pedal the Gorilla Puncher #13 forward. "IF YOU THINK YOU CAN DODGE, THEN BE MY GUEST! BUT BE WARNED! I WON'T MAKE IT EASY FOR YOU! SLOW SLOW BEAM!" **FWOOOSH! **Foxy fired another purple beam and it sailed right over Luffy's head.

"What the heck are you aiming at?" Luffy questioned.

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed, "TAKE A LOOK BEHIND YOU!"

Luffy turned and his eyes widened in alarm when he realized that the wall behind him wasn't just a wall but also a huge mirror. "It's a mirror!"

"Yes!" Foxy confirmed, "And mirrors reflect Slowmo Photons!" **WHISH! **Foxy's beam hit the mirror and bounced off it towards Luffy.

"WAH!" Luffy yelped as he weaved to the side to avoid the rebounding beam.

"I'VE GOT YOU!" Foxy shouted as he one of the lower fists shot out from his machine. **POW! **Luffy was hit by the huge fist that was as big as his body. **FWOOOM! **But then the first burst into flames and burned Luffy as it sent him flying backwards.

"AAAAAAHH!" Luffy screamed as he was roasted by the flames. **Fwip! **He flipped off of the huge fist and frantically shook his body to put out the flames before they caught on his afro. "HOTHOTHOTHOTHOT!"

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed mockingly, "Aw, what's the matter? Can't take the heat? Did I forget to mention that these gloves burn like fire? BECAUSE THEY DO! NOT EVEN SEA KINGS CAN STAND A BEATING FROM THIS THING!"

Foxy smirked as he pulled out a small handheld mirror, "MIRROR RACKET!" **FWOOOSH! **Foxy fired a Slow Slow Beam out of his left hand and immediately bounced it off of the mirror in his right hand like it was a tennis racket.

"Ugh!" LufFy grunted as he leaned to the side to once again avoid the beam. **WHISH! **But then the beam bounced off of the mirror behind him and redirected again.

**WHISH! **Foxy caught the redirected beam with his mirror and redirected it again while he continued to shoot out Slowmo Photons from his other hands. The result, was four simultaneous Slow Slow Beams flying at Luffy.

**SWISH! **Luffy weaved to avoid the beams. **SWISH! **But then he had to dodge backwards to avoid a huge punch from the Gorilla Puncher #13. Luffy's movements became frantic as he struggled to avoid the numerous beams and the twenty-five fists.

**RRRMMMBBB! **Meanwhile, Foxy continued to pedal the Gorilla Puncher #13 closer to Luffy and began to close in on the mirror wall behind Luffy. The rubber pirates thirty foot dodging space quickly shortened to twenty and was still shrinking by the second.

"THAT'S RIGHT! DANCE FOR ME!" Foxy taunted as he tilted his mirror and caused the beams to fly at Luffy from a different angle. "FEHFEHFEHFEH! IT'S A BEAM AND PUNCH COMBO! I CALL THIS ATTACK THE SLOWPOKE BALL DEMON COACH!"

**SWISH! **"WAH! WAH!" Luffy yelped as he continued to dodge the fists and the beams. **SWISH! SWISH! **He was now practically backed up against the mirror as Foxy further reduced his dodging space to a mere ten feet.

"_This is a pain…"_ Luffy thought to himself, _"I've gotta find a way to get in closer."_

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed, "YOU CAN'T DODGE FOREVER! WHAT'S IT GONNA BE? THE BEAM OR THE MACHINE?"

"_Wait, that's it!" _Luffy realized. He turned around and punched the mirror. **Kraka-KRESH! **The wall-length mirror cracked and shattered causing small shards of reflective glass rain down as the beams stopped bounced off of the cracked mirror.

Foxy stared at the shattered mirror in wide-eyed shock, "I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT!" **SKISH! **Luffy jumped up in front of Foxy. "OH NO!"

"GUM… GUM… PISTOL!" **SHOOOM! **Luffy's arm shot out in front of him and his fist slammed into Foxy's face. **KA-POW!**

"UUWAAAHHH!" Foxy groaned as his long nose bent upward from Luffy's powerful punch. But Foxy took the punch in stride and quickly fired a beam down at Luffy as he was still dropping down after his punch, "SLOW SLOW BEAM!" **FWOOOSH! **

"WAAH!" Luffy yelped as he rolled in midair to avoid the beam.

"BEAM! BEAM! BEAM!" Foxy shouted over and over again as he fired off a barrage of Slow Slow Beams. **FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! **"YOU LITTLE BRAT!" **FWOOOOM! **All twenty-five of the Gorilla Puncher #13's fists ignited in flames as Foxy glared down at Luffy. "GORILLA PUNCH GOLDEN HAND SHOT!"

"AAAUUUGGHHH!" Luffy screamed out in pain as he was caught between the shattered mirror wall and Foxy's wall of flaming punches. **POW! POW! POW! POW! POW!**

**FWIISssshhh… **The flame and smoke finally cleared and Foxy smirked as he looked down at Luffy's burned body as it laid on the floor below him.

**-x-**

"_**TIME MARCHES ON BUT NEITHER COMPETITOR HAS EMERGED AS A WINNER IN THIS DAVY BACK FIGHT! IT'S TRULY UNUSUAL FOR SOMEONE TO LAST SO LONG AGAINST FOXY IN HIS OWN TERRITORY!"**_

"BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS!" the Foxy Pirates chanted.

"_**EVEN IF THEY CAN'T SEE HIM, THE FOXY CREW CHANTS FOR THE CAPTAIN WITH ALL THEIR HEARTS!"**_

"Luffy won't lose," Zoro insisted.

"Well that goes without saying," Usopp agreed. "He's Luffy _and _he has an Afro!"

"I'd say being Luffy should be more than enough," Sanji admitted, "But the Afro is nice."

"You're gonna have to explain this Afro-thing to me," Nami requested. "You're all acting like it powers him up but that doesn't make any sense!"

"I think this is the longest combat round I've ever seen," a Foxy Pirate remarked.

"The guy's made of rubber after all," another Foxy Pirate pointed out.

"He's made of rubber _and _he has an Afro!" a third Foxy Pirate added.

"Really? Am I the only one who doesn't get this?" Nami questioned.

"I'm not scared," Chopper stated, "Because I know that no matter what, Luffy's gonna win this!"

"Of course," Robin replied, "He does have that Afro."

"You too?" Nami whined. She turned to Ricky. "You've gotta explain this Afro-thing to me!"

"Sure," Ricky said, "Right after you explain why my popcorn bag is half empty."

"You ate it, obviously," Nami answered.

"I've taken two handfuls," Ricky informed her. "There's no way I ate this much without realizing it." Ricky looked over at Chopper who was finishing off his fourth stick of cotton candy then back at the known thief on his other side. "I thought you said you weren't hungry."

"I'm not!" Nami insisted.

**KA-BOOOOOM! **An explosion rang out and a huge cloud of smoke shot out from below deck.

"_**WHAT'S THIS? IT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING IS HAPPENING ON THE DECK! WHO HAS THE UPPER HAND? OR PERHAPS THE BATTLE HAS ENDED WITH A BANG AND ONLY ONE FIGHTER REMAINS!"**_

Itomimizu spotted a pair of familiar silhouettes in the smoke.

"_**NO! WAIT! I SEE TWO PEOPLE! BUT ONLY ONE OF THEM IS STANDING!"**_

"**FEHFEHFEHFEH!" **Foxy's shrill laugh cut through the smoke until it cleared to reveal Foxy standing over the burned body of Luffy.

"_**IT'S OUR BOSS!"**_

"YYEEAAAHHH!" the Foxy Pirates cheered as Foxy posed with his gloves over his head.

"_**MEANWHILE, IT LOOKS LIKE STRAW HAT HAS BEEN BURNED TO A CRISP! HE MUST HAVE TAKEN SOME SERIOUSLY HOT PUNCHES!"**_

"LUFFY!" Usopp yelled out in alarm.

"…" Zoro stared silently at their fallen captain.

"No way!" Usopp gasped.

"It takes more then punches to burn someone like that," Nami noted, "What gives?"

"GAAH! LUFFY!" Chopper screamed.

"Hmm… he's still breathing," Ricky noted as he stared through is binoculars.

"No… wait!" Robin exclaimed as Luffy started to twitch.

Foxy looked over his shoulder and watched in amazement as Luffy got back up.

"_**HE'S UP! AGAINST ALL ODDS, STRAW HAT IS UP! IT SEEMED LIKE HE WAS DOWN FOR THE COUNT BUT THE FIGHT GOES ON!"**_

"Atta boy," Ricky said with a faint smile. The Straw Hats were all glad to see their Captain back on his feet while the Foxy Pirates looked surprised.

"Lemme see," Nami ordered as she once again grabbed Ricky's binoculars and stared through the unused side as Luffy and Foxy stared down.

"You're breath… smells like popcorn," Ricky noted.

"SHUT UP!" Nami snapped at him, "Your brother just got burned to a crisp and you're worried about a snack?"

"A snack that you stole," Ricky stated.

"You're persistent," Foxy admitted as he eyed Luffy, "I'll give you that much, rubber boy."

"IT'S AFRO POWER!" a Foxy Pirate exclaimed. "What else could it be?"

"Finish him, Boss!" another Foxy Pirate called out.

Foxy reached into the front of his pants and pulled out the hilt a wooden sword. "TAKE THIS!" **FWIISH! **Foxy slashed the handle and a purple beam came out from the end and passed through Luffy's wrists.

"UGH!" Luffy grunted as his arms were frozen in place by a stationary purple beam that was acting like a purple bar. **FWIISH! **Foxy slashed his sword across Luffy's ankles and bound them together too.

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed, "That's the Slow Slow Beam Sword! As you can probably tell, I restrained your arms and legs but left the rest of you alone. Good luck with that! 'Cause you're gonna need it!"

"Ugghh… uggnnnn…" Luffy groaned as he strained against his bonds.

"MEGATON NINE-TAILED RUSH!" **POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW! **Foxy delivered a barrage of rapid-fire punches while Luffy was once again unable to defend himself.

"RUSH!" Foxy shouted again as he continued his vicious barrage. **POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW! **"RUSH!" **POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW! **"RUSH!" **POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW!**

The Straw Hats and even some of the Foxy Pirates stared in shock.

But Foxy kept going and continued to pummel Luffy over and over again for the entire thirty second time limit. **POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW!**

"That's thirty seconds," Foxy concluded as he finally finished his vicious assault.

**BA-BA-BOOOOM! **Luffy went flying backwards and slammed into the main mast of the Sexy Foxy. **KRASH! **He dropped to the ground and laid still. **THUD!**

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed.

"_**HE'S DOWN FOR SURE THIS TIME!"**_

"Uugghh…" Luffy groaned as he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees.

"_**NO! NOT YET!"**_

"Come on!" Nami urged the Captain.

"…" Foxy stared at Luffy in uncomprehending shock as the rubber pirate got to his feet.

"_**HE'S UP! HE'S REALLY UP!"**_

"That's nuts!" a Foxy Pirate exclaimed, "Who is this guy?"

"They shouldn't have let him have that Afro!" another Foxy Pirate complained, "No one can stop him now!"

"What did I tell you guys?" Ricky asked as he looked back at the Foxy Pirates. "Straw Hat Luffy can not and WILL NOT be stopped."

"You stubborn brat!" Foxy snarled, "TAKE THIS! ANOTHER SLOW SLOW BEAM!" **FWOOSH! **Luffy was still trying to recover and received another full dose of Slowmo Photons.

"MEGATON NINE-TAILED RUSH!" Foxy shouted as he once again laid into Luffy for a vicious barrage of punches. **POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW! **Foxy kept on punching and looking like he was once against going to spend an entire thirty seconds delivering punch after punch to an unresponsive Luffy.

"THAT BEAM IS FOR CHEATERS!" Usopp called out as he jumped out of his seat and hopped on the railing, "TRY FIGHTING LIKE A MAN FOR ONCE!"

"Sit down!" Zoro complained.

"Everything's legal in this fight," Ricky stated, "He can hit Luffy with his beam as many times as he wants. All that matters is that Luffy doesn't stay down."

"_**THIS LOOKS LIKE THE END!"**_

**BA-BA-BOOOOM! **Luffy once again went flying backwards after receiving a full thirty-second barrage of rapid-fire punches. **KER-RASH! **Instead of slamming into the main mast, this time he smashed straight through it. **THUD!** Luffy hit the deck while the mast toppled over the side of the ship. **SPLOOSH!**

"Huff… huff… huff…" Foxy panted as he stood over Luffy, "Dealing the punches ain't so easy either kid… Huff… huff… huff…"

"HE'S BEATING LUFFY TO DEATH OUT THERE!" Usopp shrieked.

"Ricky…" Chopper whispered. "Is… Luffy gonna be okay?"

"If it was possible to beat Luffy to death Grandpa would have done it a long time ago," Ricky told him. "Foxy's not strong enough to keep someone like Luffy down."

"Uugghh…." Sure enough, Luffy groaned and once again started to push himself back up.

"_**HE'S GETTING UP AGAIN!"**_

"Whoa… he's tough…" a Foxy Pirate gasped while the other around him stared in shock.

Ricky, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper and Robin all looked on as their Captain once again stood back up.

"Ahhhhh…" Foxy gaped at Luffy in utter disbelief.

Luffy slowly raised his head and glared at Foxy, "I won't… let you take… a single one of my Nakama! EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!"

"_**HE… HE'S ON HIS FEET! STRAW HAT LUFFY REFUSES TO GIVE IN!"**_

**-x-**

**Heated Combat:**

**-x-**

Luffy stood on shaking legs as he faced off with Foxy. He'd taken Foxy's best shots over and over again but he kept getting back up. He was determined not to lose his crew.

"_**STRAW HAT IS BACK ON HIS FEET, YET AGAIN!" **_Itomimizu actually cried at seeing Luffy's determination. _**"WHAT A GUY! HE MAY FALL…"**_

"Luffy…" Chopper whispered. His cotton candy and soda hat had been abandoned.

"_**BUT HE GETS RIGHT BACK UP EVERY TIME!" **_

"Huff… huff…" Luffy panted as he stared down Foxy.

"Why don't you just stay down!?" Foxy demanded, "You'll kill yourself!"

"LUFFY!" Usopp shouted.

"_**HE'S BATTERED AND BRUISED!"**_

"LUFFY!" Nami cried out.

"_**HE'S TIRED AND OUT OF BREATH!"**_

"Hang in there, bro," Ricky said as he helped himself to another handful of popcorn.

"_**AND YET! HE STILL STANDS TALL WITH A GLIMMER IN HIS EYE! ALL FOR THE SAKE OF HIS FRIENDS! NOW THIS IS A DAVY BACK FIGHT!" **_Itomimizu completely broke down and cried. _**"I… I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY! I'M SO TEARY-EYED I CAN'T SEE STRAIGHT!"**_

"GO LUFFY!" Usopp cheered.

"_**STRAW HAT! WE LOVE YOU!"**_

"Yeah, you rock Straw Hat!" a Foxy Pirate called out.

"LU-FFY! LU-FFY! LU-FFY!" the Foxy Pirates were so moved that they started chanting for the determined rubber pirate that refused to stay down.

"_**THE CROWD HAS SPOKEN. STRAW HAT HAS TOUCHED OUR HEARTS. NO ONE HAS EVER LASTED THIS LONG AGAINST OUR BOSS. NO ONE HAS EVER SHOWN SO MUCH COURAGE!"**_

Foxy shook as he heard his announcer and his crew cheering and praising his opponent.

"YOU IDIOTS!" Foxy yelled at his crew. "GEEZ! DON'T YOU REALIZE YOU'RE CHEERING FOR THE ENEMY!?"

The Foxy Pirates stopped chanting and stared in surprise. Then one called out, "Come on Boss!"

"BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS!" The Foxy Pirates once again went back to cheering for their beloved Captain.

"Just you wait…" Foxy growled at Luffy, "I'll end this soon…"

"SLOW SLOW BEAM SWORD!" **FWIISH!** Foxy swung his wood sword hilt and sent the purple beam flying at Luffy. **SKISH! **Luffy lunged to the side to avoid it. "YOU'LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT! HYAA!" **FWIISSSHH! **Foxy swung his sword again and managed to snag Luffy's ankle and his Afro.

"OH NO!" Usopp shrieked. "HE CAN'T DODGE! HIS POOR LEGS ARE TOO WORN OUT TO RUN!"

"IT'S TOO CRUEL!" Chopper wailed. "I CAN'T WATCH!"

"He'll be fine," Ricky said as he took another handful of popcorn.

"HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM WHEN YOUR BROTHER IS BEING MURDERED OUT THERE?" Nami berated him.

"Because he's my brother and I know what he's capable of," Ricky answered, "I trust Luffy to keep going until he wins this." **Sluurp! **Ricky paused to take a casual sip of his cola. "To be honest, it seems like Foxy is running out of things to hit him with. His punches aren't working, the bombs didn't work and whatever he did to him in the ship didn't keep him down for long either. Foxy's starting to wear himself out so this is Luffy's chance to find an opening."

"HERE! LET ME PUT YOU TO REST!" Foxy called out as he reached behind him and pulled a lever. **Click! BOOOOM! **A cannon that was on the deck fired a cannonball at him. "SLOW SLOW BEAM!" **FWOOSH! **Foxy's beam hit the cannonball and slowed it down.

"_**THE BOSS GOES ON THE OFFENSIVE! HE'S SLOWED DOWN A CANNONBALL BUT TO WHAT END?"**_

**SWISH! **Foxy jumped on a wooden glider with a fox head and a big hole in the middle. **SKISH! **Foxy launched the glider up into the air and mounted it onto the slow-moving cannonball using the hole in the middle.

"FLYING FOXY FIGHTER!" Foxy called out as he struck a pose on the slow moving glider as it drifted towards the still immobilized Luffy. "Watch out for my flying fists! They're gonna knock you out at the speed of a cannonball!"

"Well that's… different…" Ricky noted. "Now I guess he's combining a cannon and a punch…"

"_**HE'S USING THE FLYING FOXY FIGHTER TO FINISH HIS FOE! IT MAY BE SLOW NOW BUT ONCE THE BEAM WEARS OFF THERE'S NO ESCAPE!" **_

"LUFFY! LISTEN!" Sanji called out. "HE USED HIS BEAM ON YOU BEFORE THE BALL! DODGE AS SOON AS YOU'RE BACK TO NORMAL!"

"FEHFEHFEHFEH!" Foxy laughed as he glided towards Luffy.

Luffy's foot twitched. "I CAN MOVE!" he realized. **SKISH! **Luffy launched himself off the floor and flew to the side.

"_**OH! STRAW HAT RECOVERS! BUT IS IT TOO LATE?"**_

Luffy got up and saw Foxy's glider still flying towards him. He turned and ran.

"NICE TRY!" Foxy called after him, "BUT I'M TOO FAST!" **WOOOSH! **The cannonball sped back up and Foxy's glider suddenly sped forward as if it had been blasted out of a cannon. **KA-POW! **Foxy swung his arm and drove his spiked fist into Luffy's face.

"WAAAAH!" Luffy shouted as he skidded across the deck and slammed into the far railing. **THUD!**

"AND HERE'S A PARTING GIFT!" Foxy taunted as he jumped off of his glider and sent it flying after Luffy. **SKISH! **The glider soared across the deck towards the prone Luffy.

"WATCH OUT!" Usopp yelled, "THAT THING'S ABOUT TO BLOW!"

The glider and the cannonball collided with Luffy and exploded, **KA-BOOOOOOOM!**

"_**A DIRECT HIT! OW! I DON'T THINK STRAW HAT WILL BE GETTING UP FROM THAT ONE!"**_

"BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! BOSS!" the Foxy Pirates chanted for their Captain.

"WAH! OH NO! LUFFY!" Chopper shrieked.

"That jerk!" Nami spat, "Is he trying to kill him?"

"It was still just a punch and a cannonball…" Ricky stated, "Those don't work."

The smoke from the explosion cleared and Luffy was once again back on his feet.

"_**HE… HE… HE'S BACK UP!"**_

"Hwah?" Foxy turned to look over his shoulder. His jaw dropped and his eyes bugged out at the sight of Luffy still standing.

"OH NO! NOTHING'S WORKING!" a Foxy Pirate screamed.

"ONE EYE WAS RIGHT! THAT GUY'S AN UNSTOPPABLE MONSTER!" another one wailed.

**THUD! **Luffy's legs gave out and he dropped to the deck but he pushed back up onto his knees. **Klink! **Something fell out of Luffy's Afro and landed on the deck in front of him.

A small patch of light shined on Luffy's forehead as he stared down at the fallen object.

Ricky's voice echoed through Luffy's head. _"Remember, if Foxy can bounce his beam off of it, so can you."_

Luffy quickly plucked the fallen object off of the ground and stood up.

"How do you plan to beat me if you can't even stand up straight?" Foxy asked. "Never mind! If that's how you want it THEN I'LL JUST HAVE TO POUND YOUR FACE IN UNTIL YOU STAY DOWN FOR GOOD!" Foxy charged across the deck at Luffy. "MEGATON NINE-TAILED…"

But Luffy stood firm and met the charging Foxy head-on. "GUM… GUM…"

"RUSH!"

"GATLING!"

**POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW! POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW! POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW!**

Luffy and Foxy's fists collided over and over again for a two-sided barrage of rapid-fire punches.

"_**SUCH INTENSITY! BOTH FIGHTERS ARE UNLEASHING A FLURRY OF FISTS AT LIGHTNING SPEED!"**_

"GO! SLAUGHTER THAT FOX!" Usopp shouted.

"YOU CAN DO IT!" Chopper cheered.

"_**SO FAST! SO STRONG! SO BRUTAL!"**_

**POW! **Luffy's fist slammed into Foxy's face as one of his punches made it through. Foxy recoiled and that allowed Luffy to deliver a flurry of quick punches to his face. **POW! POW! POW! POW! POW!**

**POW! POW! **Foxy took another two hard punches to the face and realized that he was on the losing end of this exchange. He pulled his fists back and fired, "SLOW SLOW BEAM!"

**FWOOOSH! **There was a purple flash.

Itomimizu and the crowd of Foxy Pirates stared in surprise.

"Wait… what?" Usopp questioned.

"He stopped moving," Nami realized.

Foxy's Slow Slow Beam wasn't hitting Luffy. It was seemingly bouncing off of Luffy's boxing glove and enveloping the person it had originated from.

**Fwup! **Luffy dropped to his knees in front of Foxy.

"_**I… I THINK STRAW HAT IS BEAT! NO WAIT… HE'S ON HIS KNEES. BUT HE'S STILL MOVING! UNLIKE OUR BOSS WHO IS STANDING BUT IS STRANGELY FROZEN IN PLACE!"**_

"Nnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooo…" Foxy slowly called out as a victim of his own attack.

"How did he?" Nami wondered.

"OH NO! BOSS!" the Foxy Crew shouted in alarm.

**Clink! **A shark of reflective glass dropped out of Luffy's boxing glove. Chirp Chirp flew overhead so Itomimizu could get a good look at it.

"_**IT'S A MIRROR! A PIECE OF MIRROR HAS FALLEN FROM STRAW HAT'S HAND!"**_

"It was stuck in my Afro," Luffy explained, "It got it when I broke that mirror."

"Oooooooooooooooohhhhhhhh!" Foxy slowly called out in alarm.

"GUUUUUMMM… GUUUUMMMM…" Luffy pulled his arm back and started to swing fist around over his head. **SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! **

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh…" Foxy slowly screamed. There was nothing he could do to dodge.

"FLLLAAAAAIIIIIL!" **WHOOOSH! **Luffy yanked on his arm and shot his swinging fist. **WHOMP! **Luffy's fist slammed into Foxy's unprotected face at full speed.

Luffy retracted his fist then turned and walked away from Foxy. He slowly climbed back up onto the Sexy Foxy figurehead.

Foxy's cheek started to sink in but the full impact of Luffy's high-speed punch wouldn't hit him until the Slow Slow Beam wore off.

"Eight seconds…" Zoro stated.

"Eh?" Usopp asked.

"_**COULD THIS BE… THE END?"**_

"Seven seconds…" Sanji announced.

**Whap! **"Gotcha, you little thief!" Ricky called out as he grabbed Nami's hand in his popcorn.

"Six…" Robin said with a smile.

"Ah!" Chopper gasped.

"SAY IT AIN'T SO!" the Foxy Pirates shouted.

"AHAHAHAHA!" Usopp stood up and laughed, "FIVE!"

"So I was stealing your popcorn!" Nami exclaimed, "Don't be stingy!"

"Ahhh!" Foxy's face continued to distort from slowed down impact of Luffy's fist.

"HEY! COME ON YOU GUYS!" Usopp yelled at the Foxy Pirates, "DON'T JUST SIT THERE! COUNT ALONG WITH ME! FOUR!"

"You could have gotten your own popcorn from the vendor for free," Ricky pointed out. "Chopper's got more snacks than he knows what to do with. Sanji went and bought popcorn _for you _at ten times the normal price. You just had to steal _my _popcorn."

"WE'RE ALMOST AT THE END!" Usopp called out, "EVERYONE TOGETHER NOW!"

"THREE!" Usopp and Foxy Pirates chanted.

"If you're hungry you can have this, Nami-swan!" Sanji happily offered Nami the untouched bag of popcorn that he'd gotten her.

"TWO!"

Nami frowned as she took a handful of popcorn from Sanji's bag. Something was missing. The popcorn had been freely given. It was too easy. There was no challenge. There had bene no thrill out of stealing right out from under his nose.

Nami looked from the smiling Sanji who happily offering her whatever she wanted to the scowling Ricky who had caught her red-handed and taken her to task on it.

Nami's eyes widened when she realized that this wasn't about the popcorn at all.

"ONE!"

**-x-**

**Fateful Conclusion:**

**-x-**

"THREE!"

"TWO!"

"ONE!"

**BOOOOOM! **The full impact of Luffy's powerful attack struck Foxy and he went spiraling high up into the air.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Foxy screamed as he flew up over the rigging on the front sail.

Luffy stood on the Sexy Foxy figurehead and raised his arm up into the air, "YEEEEAAAAH!"

"ALRIGHT!" the Straw Hats all cheered.

Usopp and Chopper jumped up and started dancing.

"HE DID IT! HE DID IT!" the overjoyed duo chanted.

"AAAAAHHH! BOSS!" the Foxy Pirates cried out in shock. "HE'S FLYING!"

Foxy reached the peak of his flight all the way up above the Sexy Foxy's tallest sail.

"_**UP AND UP GOES OUR BOSS! HIGH INTO THE SKY!"**_

But what goes up must come down. Foxy plummeted down out of the sky and crashed into the water below… water that was outside the battlefield. **SPLASH!**

"_**AND NOW HE FINALLY COMES DOWN! OUTSIDE THE BATTLEFIELD! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE FINAL ROUND OF THE DAVY BACK FIGHT HAS COME TO AN END! AFTER AN EPIC BATTLE BETWEEN CAPTAIN'S OUR BOSS' LEGENDARY RECORD OF NINE HUNDRED TWENTY WINS AND ZERO LOSSES HAS BEEN BROKEN! LET'S HEAR IT FOR STRAW HAT LUFFY!"**_

Ricky stood up and smirked at the Foxy Pirates behind him, "We hate to say we told you so…"

Usopp and Chopper jumped up onto Ricky's back and shouted, "BUT WE TOLD YOU SO!"

"Way to go Luffy," Zoro congratulated the Captain.

"…" Robin was silent but was smiling widely.

"HE DID IT, NAMI-SWAN!" Sanji jumped up and hugged Nami.

"Sanji! That tickles! Get off!" Nami complained as she shoved him off of her.

**DING-DING-DING! **The bell rang signally the official end of the round.

"Our Boss… really lost…" a shocked Foxy Pirate gasped.

"_**WE'VE SEEN IT ALL HERE TODAY, FOLKS! IT'S THE END OF AN ERA! THE DAVY BACK GIANT HAS BEEN TOPPLED! AND THE BOY WITH THE TINY CREW AND THE MASSIVE AFRO HAS SEIZED THE DAY IN A GRAND FASHION! "**_

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Ricky said to the Foxy Pirates, "But your Boss just fell in the water and since he ate a Devil Fruit, he can't swim. Someone should probably jump in and save him."

"HE'S RIGHT!" a Foxy Pirate exclaimed. "THE BOSS NEEDS OUR HELP!"

Instead of one pirate going to save Foxy, the entire Foxy crew rushed to the front of the stands so they could jump off and save Foxy.

The raised stands couldn't handle the suddenly weight displacement and started to wobble before the completely collapsed and crashed down into the water. **SPLOOOSH!**

"BOSS!" the Foxy Pirates creamed as they dove into the water after the sinking Foxy.

The Captain's Fight and the Davy Back Fight was over. Luffy and the Straw Hats had won.

**-x-**

The dust from the big fight had finally settled. The Foxy shipwrights were hard at work repairing all the damage that Luffy and, mostly, Foxy had done to the ship during their battle.

"You little showoff!" Usopp snapped as the Straw Hats stood around a heavily bandaged Luffy on the grass beside the Sexy Foxy. "Who do you think you are? Take this!" Usopp lashed out and poked Luffy in the cheek. **Poke! **"And this!" **Poke!**

"HEY! STOP THAT!" Chopper warned him. "He's really hurt! You'll poke him to death!"

"That'd be a first," Ricky remarked. He, Usopp and Luffy had all changed out of the crazy fight outfits. Although Usopp was still wearing Luffy's straw hat under his goggles and Ricky had decided to keep his long black trench coat.

"Yeah, Afro Power, my butt," Nami muttered. "That was a close call if I've ever seen one."

"Whoa, hey," Sanji said, "Let's done disrespect the Afro, here."

"Will somebody tell me what the big deal is about afros!?" Nami demanded.

"Afros are awesome," Ricky stated, "They make the person wearing them awesome and capable of accomplishing awesome feats. The same goes for trench coats."

"You don't _actually _believe that, do you?" Nami asked.

"Why do you think I took this trench coat?" Ricky countered.

"Ugghh…" Luffy groaned and finally opened his eyes.

"Look, he's waking up!" Chopper pointed out.

Luffy sat up with a shot, "Where am I? What happened? Is it over? Did I win? That wasn't just a dream, was it? WAS IT?"

"You don't need to freak out," Zoro reassured him. "You beat him."

Luffy sighed and flopped back down in the grass, "What a relief!"

"Everyone else said you'd lose," Usopp lied as he pulled off Luffy's straw hat and gave it back. "But not me!"

"You're a bad liar," Sanji told him.

"Guess it would've been a real pain if you'd lost," Zoro commented, "Imagine being suck on a boat with Foxy. Screw that."

"Fufufu," Robin let out a faint laugh but trailed off.

"**HEY! STRAW HAT!"**

The Straw Hats looked up to see a heavily bandaged Foxy approaching. He had a band of bandages around his forehead and around his long nose.

"Boss, you've gotta take it easy!" a Foxy Pirate warned the Captain as he and the rest of the Foxy Crew trailed after him.

"Hey you, rubber boy!" Foxy called out again. "I was pretty attached to that win streak of mine! I'm not pleased about you ruining it!"

Luffy sat up to face Foxy.

"BOSS NO!" the Foxy Pirate shouted.

Foxy surprised everyone when he extended his hand to Luffy. "I'm kidding, brother!" he said. "Let's shake."

"What a guy!" a Foxy Pirate exclaimed.

"He's the best!" another gushed.

"You're too kind, Boss!"

"Pupupupu!" Hamburg chuckled behind his hands while Porche smirked. Both of them knew what the Boss was planning.

Luffy reached out for Foxy's hand but Foxy suddenly leaned in and grabbed Luffy's wrist and elbow then turned and swung Luffy's arm over his shoulder, "HI-YA! TASTE MY SHOULDER THROW OF SPITE!"

**BONK! **Instead of throwing Luffy, the rubber pirate's arm just stretched and Foxy ended up banging his head on the ground.

"OH NO!" the Foxy Pirates gasped.

"This guy's a real piece of work," Zoro muttered.

"YOU FORGET THE RULES ALREADY?" Foxy snapped at Luffy, "COME ON! YOU'VE GOT A NEW CREWMATE TO CHOOSE!"

"_**HE'S RIGHT! WE HAVEN'T MADE THE FINAL EXCHANGE YET. WORD HAS IT THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR A SHIPWRIGHT! WELL WE'VE GOT PLENTY OF THOSE! WILL THEY CHOOSE SONIE, THE HEAD OF ALL FIFTY FOXY SHIPWRIGHTS?"**_

A stocky man with scruffy hair, sideburns and a tool belt stepped forward.

"_**OR WILL IT BE DONOVAN, THE SHIPWRIGHT WHO CAN ALSO FIGHT?"**_

A muscular man with a pointed chin and three nails in his mouth strode forward.

"_**OR MAYBE GINA, THE SEXY SHIPWRIGHT?"**_

A beautiful woman with tan skin and wavy dark red hair came forward.

"_**OR HAS ONE OF OUR OTHER FOXY PIRATES CAUGHT STRAW HAT'S EYE?"**_

The Foxy Pirates all tensed. From Foxy himself, to Porche, Hamburg, Capote, Pickles, Big Pan, Chiqicheetah, Mashikaku, Jube, Girarin and even Itomimizu. Some of the Foxy Pirates even looked hopeful about being picked after seeing Luffy's determination in the Captain's Fight.

"I don't want your crew," Luffy stated, "I want your Jolly Roger."

"WHAAAAT?" the Foxy crew shouted.

"Luffy, what about the sexy shipwright, Gina!" Sanji protested, "Won't your regret this?"

"If I don't actually get what I want, I'll forget why I accepted this challenge in the first place," Luffy told him.

"YOU MONSTER!" Foxy shrieked, "YOU'D STRIP MY POOR CREW OF THEIR LIVELYHOOD WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT?"

"I don't need your sail," Luffy pointed out, "You gotta use that to go places after-all."

"Do you hear that?" a Foxy Pirate asked. "We're saved."

"But our sail shows our flag too," another Foxy Pirate said as he motioned to the Sexy Foxy's front sail which was black and painted with Foxy's long-nosed, split-headed Jolly Roger.

"We don't need your pity!" a third Foxy Pirates snapped, "You won, so just take it!"

"Don't worry, I've got a plan," Luffy announced. The Straw Hats knew enough to look worried. "It's just a symbol. I can paint another one over. Once you have a new flag you should be fine."

"Thank you, Straw Hat!" Foxy gushed, "You're so kind!"

A moment later, Luffy proudly displayed the new Jolly Roger for the Foxy Pirates.

"There!" Luffy announced.

The new symbol of Foxy's crew once again showcased Luffy complete lack of artistic talent. The top of the skull was rounded, the crossbones were crooked, the ears were round and the pink nose was misshaped and pointed upward. Even the 'FOXY' kanji had been replaced by sloppy 'FOX' kanji.

All five hundred members of the Foxy Pirates dropped to their knees at the sight of the horrid monstrosity that would now serve as their new banner.

"IT SUCKS!"

"Aw, you guys don't have to bow to me!" Luffy remarked when he saw the Foxy crew on their hands and knees.

"WE'RE NOT BOWING!" they all shouted.

"That's what happens when you mess with the Straw Hat Pirates," Ricky resolved. "You lose."

**BLOOOM! BLOOOM! BLOOOM! **Fireworks exploded overhead to mark the official end of the Davy Back Fight between the Foxy Pirates and the Straw Hat Pirates.

"_**AND THIS MARKS THE END OF THE DAVY BACK FIGHT! THIS IS ITOMIMIZU THE FOXY PIRATES' ANNOUNCER SIGNING OFF!"**_

"Wait! Choppy!" Porche called out as she chased after a terrified Chopper, "Let me hug you just one more time!"

"Waaaahhh!" Chopper screamed as he ran from clingy Foxy Idol. He darted back through is crew in an attempt to escape her. "SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Nami stood up just as Porche reached them and stuck out her arm, **WHAM! **"BACK OFF!" Porche ran into Nami's arm at full speed. Her upperbody was knocked backwards while her legs kept going. **THUD! **The Foxy Idol ended up flat on her back.

Hamburg came over and grabbed Porche then retreated back to the Sexy Foxy along with the rest of the Foxy Pirates.

**CHUNK! CHUNK! **The front claws of the Sexy Foxy that had been around the Going Merry the whole time withdrew back into the large ship.

"WOO-HOO!" Usopp cheered. "THE GOING MERRY'S FINALLY BEEN RELEASED!

"HEY RUBBER BOY!" Foxy shouted off the back of his ship, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS! JUST WAIT!"

With that, the Sexy Foxy and the Foxy Pirates sailed off.

"What a weird group of pirates," Zoro remarked.

Luffy shook his head and hefted Foxy's black flag over his shoulder, "There's something I've gotta do before we leave."

Luffy led the way and the Straw Hats all followed him back to Tonjit's house.

**-x-**

"That's right Shelly," Tonjit said as he watched the Sexy Foxy sail off from his house. "It's finally over." The nomad was so caught up in tending to his beloved horse that he completely missed the tall man standing in front of his door.

**Neeiigghhh… **Shelly brayed softly and looked down at her bandaged leg. That was where Foxy had shot her while she and Tonjit had been taking a joyride after reuniting after ten long years.

"You've faithfully waited ten years for me," Tonjit told his loyal horse, "Now it's my turn to wait with you. I don't care how long it takes. We'll chase after the other villagers once your leg's fully healed."

Tonjit heard someone coming and looked up with a wide smile as all eight Straw Hats Pirate approached him. They, also, all missed the tall man standing in front of Tonjit's front door.

"You're back!" Tonjit called out to them.

"We brought you a souvenir," Luffy announced as he held out Foxy's flag to Tonjit.

Tonjit looked passed the flag at all of Luffy's bandages, "You're hurt. Are you alright?"

"Shishi!" Luffy chuckled, "Aw this? It's nothing."

Tonjit smiled, "Thank you for your help."

**Neeeiiggh! **Shelly chimed in.

"Is that why you accepted the fight?" Nami asked. "Because you wanted to help him? And here I thought you were just being stupid again."

"Man, you're rude," Luffy complained.

"You're gonna have to catch me up here," Ricky requested, "What's this guy's story?"

One exposition later…

"Well, we'd like to take you to where your village was moved," Nami admitted, "But since the ten small islands of Long Ring Long Land are all parts of one big island that's mostly underwater the Log Pose won't be able to pinpoint it."

"You don't have to do that," Tonjit assured them. "Shelly and I are very patient. We'll be fine. But since you came all this way, you can come inside. You're all most welcome."

"Do you have anything to eat?" Luffy requested. "And no more cheese, please."

"Hahaha!" Tonjit laughed as he turned and led the way into his house. **THUD! **Tonjit walked right into the tall man that had been standing in front of his door.

**ZZZZZ… **More like sleeping in front of his door. While standing.

"Whoa, what's this?" Tonjit sputtered.

"A person?" Usopp questioned.

"Has he been here all this time?" Nami wondered.

The man was tall and thin but with a muscular build. He was easily ten feet tall but most of it was made up from his long legs. He had a wide nose, tan skin and short curly black hair that puffed out around his jawline. The tall man was well dressed in a pair of white pants and a white vest with a blue long sleeved collared shirt underneath it. He had a yellow tie around his neck and his eyes were covered by a pale green sleeping mask.

"**Huh?" **the tall man grunted as he finally woke up, "Who are you guys?"

"WHO ARE YOU?" most of the Straw Hats shouted back at him.

There were two notable exceptions. First was Ricky who backed away and stared at the tall man in utter shock, the second was the usually stoic Robin whose blue eyes had gone wide in horror. **Thuk! **Robin fell backwards as the tall man pulled up his sleeping mask.

"Robin?" Luffy called out when he saw the shocked archeologist.

"Miss. Robin, what's wrong?" Sanji asked.

"Oh my, you've turned into a beautiful woman… Nico Robin," the tall man remarked.

"Who the heck is this guy?" Nami demanded.

Ricky stared at the tall man in wide-eyed horror. "This guy… is Marine Admiral Aokiji…"

**-x-**

Next chapter, the Straw Hats face off with Admiral Aokiji.

'Till Next Time…

Peace!


	8. Admiral Aokiji

**Another Nakama IV**

**Disclaimer:** The following is a non-profit fanfic. One Piece and all the related characters are owned by Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV, Shueisha, Shonnan Jump Manga and Eiichiro Oda. QPython only owns the original characters that he created for this story.

**Admiral Aokiji:**

**-x-**

The Straw Hats found themselves faced with Marine Admiral Aokiji outside Tonjit's house.

"Wait… did you say Admiral?" Sanji questioned. "That's one of the highest ranks there is!"

"But it's true," Robin said as she finally managed to regain some of her composure. "There are only three officers in all of the Marines that hold the position of Admiral."

"The names of the Admirals are codenames," Ricky continued. "There's Akainu – the Red Dog, Kizaru – the Yellow Monkey, and this guy, Aokiji – the Blue Pheasant. The only one that's ranked higher than them is Fleet Admiral Sengoku and he's the big commander of the Marines."

"The three Admirals are known to the world as the World Government's Ultimate Powerhouses," Robin concluded.

"Then why the heck is someone like this even here!?" Usopp exclaimed. He looked up at the ten foot tall Admiral. "Shouldn't you be out hunting big name notorious pirates, or something?"

"He should be," Ricky agreed. "Normally the Admirals wouldn't bother with a small crew like ours. I had hoped that we'd be able to establish ourselves more before we got our first Admiral visit. We're nowhere near ready for this guy. We're all dead."

"ALL DEAD!?" Chopper repeated in shock.

"Okay, maybe not all dead," Ricky stated, "If we'd met Akainu here, we'd all be dead. But this guy has a bit of reputation so some of us might actually make it out of here alive."

"ONLY SOME?" Chopper shrieked.

Zoro frowned as he looked from the shaken Ricky and Robin to the Marine Admiral. Ricky and Robin were the two members of the crew with the most world experience. The fact that Ricky, a former Whitebeard Pirate, who had been so confident that Luffy would beat Foxy was now worried about them dying here meant that Aokiji was the real deal. So despite Ricky's obvious fear, Zoro's hand went down to his swords.

"Is this guy… really that strong?" Nami asked as she stared up at Aokiji in concern.

Aokiji blinked and looked down at Nami, "Oh my, you're cute. Are you free tonight?"

"YOU WATCH YOUR MOUTH, YOU LANKY JERK!" Sanji shouted.

"That's actually a good thing…" Ricky said, "If he thinks she's cute he might spare her."

"HEY YOU!" Usopp snapped at the Admiral, who didn't seem focused, "PAY ATTENTION!"

"Whoa-whoa-whoa!" Aokiji said in a placating manner. "Hold on, you guys. I'm just out taking a little stroll. You guys are… uh… you're just… ah, I forget."

"You're not making any sense, you weirdo!" Usopp and Sanji complained.

"Are you guys kidding?" Usopp questioned Ricky and Robin, "You must be mistaking him for somebody else. This doofus wouldn't pass for a regular marine, there's no way he's a Marine Admiral."

"Hey, don't judge a book by its cover," Aokiji protested. "My motto is Lazy Justice."

"THEN OUR JUDGEMENT WAS RIGHT!" Usopp and Sanji snapped.

"Anyway, what I was saying is…" Aokiji trailed off, "Uh… excuse me a moment." The tall Marine Admiral dropped to the ground and laid on his side while using his white officer's coat as a pillow. "Being on my feet too long makes me tired."

"Then why were you sleeping standing up?" Usopp muttered.

"What I was saying," Aokiji said, "Was that I have no intention of capturing you or killing you or anything like that so just take it easy. I'm only here to confirm the whereabouts of Nico Robin. Vice Admiral what's-his-name from G-8 reported that she was with you."

"That is one tall piece of apathy," Sanji noted.

"The only thing high ranking about him is his nerve," Usopp added.

"I'll put some sort of report together for Headquarters later," Aokiji resolved. "Now that you've added another crew member whose got a price on her head your overall bounty has gone up. One hundred million, plus eighty million, plus sixty million, plus seventy-nine million equals… aw screw it, some big-ass number."

"Just do the damn math," Zoro growled.

"It's three hundred nineteen million," Ricky supplied. "And I for one don't think we should look a gift horse in the mouth. He's decided to spare us so let's get out of here before he changes his mind."

Nami eyed Ricky skeptically, "You can't honestly be scared of this guy?"

"Just… trust me," Ricky practically pleaded. "He's way stronger than he looks. Let's get out of here while he's still feeling merciful. The last thing we want to do is provoke him."

"GUUMM… GUUUMMM…"

"STOP IT! STOP!" Usopp shouted as he and Sanji grabbed Luffy and restrained him.

"WHAT'RE YOU GUYS DOING?" Luffy demanded. "Lemme go!"

"WHY'RE YOU TRYING TO START A FIGHT WITH THIS GUY!?" Sanji scolded him.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Usopp exclaimed, "He's one of the strongest marines there is!"

"I DON'T CARE!" Luffy yelled. "I'M NOT JUST GONNA STAND AROUND WHILE THIS GUY TRIES TO TAKE ROBIN AWAY FROM US!"

"Hey, take it easy," Aokiji told him, "I already said I'm not gonna do anything, remember?"

"WELL I AM!" Luffy hollered, "I'M KICKING YOUR ASS!"

Ricky rushed over and stood in between Luffy and Aokiji, "Luffy, you can't beat this guy! This is a marine that _Ace _would have a hard time beating! And he has _fire powers_!"

"THAT'S AN EVEN BIGGER REASON TO BEAT HIM UP!" Luffy insisted.

"Whoa there, give me a break," Aokiji requested, "I don't wanna fight. I'm just taking a stroll."

"THEN YOU CAN STROLL RIGHT OUTTA HERE!" Luffy retorted, "GO AWAY!"

"Wow… I think Luffy might be winning this," Nami mumbled as she surveyed the angry pirate captain and the reluctant marine officer.

"Look, I'll leave," Aokiji conceded, "But before I do, I was listening earlier while I was asleep." Aokiji reached out and pointed at Tonjit, "You."

"Huh?" Tonjit questioned.

"I'm a very light sleeper so I heard most of your conversation," Aokiji explained, "Prepare to move out immediately."

"Hey, old stilts guy! Don't listen to this guy!" Luffy warned Tonjit, "He's with the Marines!"

"…" Tonjit stared at Luffy.

"…" Luffy stared back at Tonjit.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Tonjit asked.

"Oh, I guess you're right!" Luffy realized, "Normally the Marines are the good guys and the pirates like us are the bad guys! Shishishishi!"

"This is no laughing matter!" Usopp scolded Luffy.

"Sure it is!" Luffy replied, "How is that guy gonna help anybody?"

"Basically, the villagers moved away while you were gone," Aokiji recounted from what he'd overheard from Tonjit's explanation to the Straw Hats. "You want to catch up with them. This island is a ring of ten islands and you want to go three islands ahead to where the others are. You planned to wait for the tide to go down so you could cross to the next island on your horse but your horse has an injured leg so you can't go now. Is that about right?"

"If you know that much," Usopp said, "Then you must realize he can't make the journey now."

"No," Robin finally spoke up, "This man has the power to help him."

"How 'bout we let the Admiral handle this," Ricky suggested, "In the meantime, we can get out of here."

"No way!" Luffy refused. "I don't trust the old-stilts-guy alone with this weirdo marine!"

"Damn it," Ricky cursed. "We're screwed."

**-x-**

Later, Tonjit and the Straw Hats had packed the nomad's belongings onto his tarp-covered wagon. The injured Shelly had been loaded on the wagon and the Straw Hats had brought it to a shore with a marker on it. Admiral Aokiji had followed behind them.

"Alright, we're that the shore," Luffy announced.

"That should do it," Usopp said as he finished tied the tarp onto the wagon.

"We loaded up all your stuff and some food and water," Sanji added. "It should be enough to last you for a week."

Nami eyed the flag marker, "So this is the place where the tide recedes once every year and opens a path, right?"

"That's right," Tonjit confirmed.

Ricky hung back with Robin and eyed the Marine Admiral warily, "As soon as they get the old man out of here, we make a break for it. And then you can explain why an Admiral knows you personally." Robin frowned.

"It feels good to do a little work every once and a while," Aokiji commented as he stood behind the wagon.

"Yeah! No doubt about that!" Luffy agreed from on top of the wagon. "You know something, you're not so bad."

"What do you know," Nami remarked, "They're hitting it off."

"Thank you for all your help," Tonjit gushed, "Would you like some cheese?"

"Don't offer him that!" Usopp scolded the nomad.

"So now what?" Luffy asked. "Are you gonna swim across and drag the wagon along with you?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Aokiji replied. He dropped his white officer's coat and walked to the edge of the shore, "Alright everybody, stay back." Aokiji knelt down and stuck his hand in the water.

"…" the Straw Hat silently watched the Marine Admiral.

"…" Aokiji closed his eyes and kept his hand in the water.

"…" Did he fall asleep again?" Chopper wondered.

**SPLOOOSH! **A huge yellow dinosaur-like sea monster with sharp teeth and a jagged spine shot out of the water.

"WHAT IS THAT THING?" Luffy yelped.

"IT'S SOME KIND OF MONSTER!" Usopp shrieked.

"IT'S THE GUARDIAN OF THESE SEAS!" Tonjit exclaimed.

**"SNARLAH!" **The Going Merry-sized monster dove at Aokiji.

"HEY, YOU! RUN FOR IT!" Usopp yelled at Aokiji.

"WATCH OUT!" Luffy warned the Admiral.

"Grr..." Zoro growled and reached for his sword.

"**Ice Age…" FWOOOSH… **Ice shot out from Aokiji's hand and froze the water around him. **FWOOOSH… **The ice kept going and froze the sea monster solid. **FWOOOSH… **The ice rushed onward and froze the waves in place as it stretched all the way across to the next island in the ring. **FWOOOOSHHH!**

The Straw Hat has were left staring in shock at a frozen ocean while Aokiji knelt on the shore with patches of ice all over his body.

"A Devil Fruit!" Zoro gasped.

"The sea… it's… frozen…" Luffy realized as he stared at the large expanse of frozen water.

"He ate a Logia Devil Fruit known as the Ice Ice Fruit," Robin stated, "This is the power of a Marine Headquarters Admiral."

**Krek! **Aokiji pulled his hand out of the frozen sea and paid no mind to the sea monster in front of him as he got up and walked away.

"It'll stay like that for at least a week," Aokiji announced as he picked his coat back up. "You can take your time until you meet up with your village. It'll get cold so be sure to bundle up."

"Is this… a dream?" Tonjit wondered as he stared at the frozen ocean in shock. "The Sea has become as hard as the ground. It's a contentment of ice." Tonjit smiled at Shelly, "You see that, Shelly? We can cross the ocean. We can see our friends and family again after ten whole years!"

**Neeeiggh! **Shelly happily agreed.

"You there, thank you!" Tonjit called after the Marine Admiral. "What a miracle! Thank you!"

Aokiji scratched the back of his head and gave Tonjit a casual wave as he left the shore.

"Well, it's time for us to get going," Tonjit announced once he'd put coats on himself and Shelly.

"Yeah, good luck old-stilts guy and horse!" Luffy called out.

"Shelly, make sure to get that bandage changed," Chopper reminded the horse.

"I don't know how to thank you," Tonjit addressed the Straw Hats, "If you hadn't come along, it'd still be on those stilts."

"Aw, don't mention it!" Luffy reassured him.

Tonjit pulled his wagon onto the frozen ocean and started on his way. He turned and called out to the Straw Hats. "THANK YOU! I'LL NEVER FORGET THIS!"

**NEEEIGGGH! **Shelly gave her own farewell.

"Take care!" Nami replied.

"Stay well!" Chopper advised.

"Stay _warm_," Ricky added.

"Stay off those stilts!" Luffy chimed in.

"STAY SAFE!" Usopp shouted.

"ENJOY THE JOURNEY!" Luffy exclaimed.

"BYE!"

The Straw Hats watched as Tonjit made his way passed the frozen sea monster and across the frozen sea until his finally disappeared from sight.

**-x-**

**Ultimate Powerhouse:**

**-x-**

"Ah, that felt really good," Luffy remarked. "Uuugghh!" Then he realized how cold it was near the frozen ocean. "It feels like winter just happened!"

"Brrr…" Nami mumbled as she hugged herself to stay warm in her t-shirt. **Whup! **A long black trench coat was suddenly draped over her shoulders. She turned to see Ricky standing next to her now in just his cloud shirt and cargo pants.

"Score one for the trench coat," Ricky boasted. Nami shook her head and smiled at him.

"This is great!" Chopper exclaimed as he skated by on the frozen ocean. The furry reindeer was unbothered by the cold that accompanied the ice.

Luffy and Usopp laughed at the happy reindeer. "Shishishishi!"

"Ahahahaha! Must be that Winter Island blood!"

Aokiji sat cross-legged on the grass near the shore and rested his head in his hand while he watched the Straw Hats as they walked away from the shore.

"Huh?" Luffy asked as the Marine Officer stared at them an scratched his head. "What?"

"How should I put this?" Aokiji wondered, "You're the splitting image of your grandfather, Monkey D. Luffy."

"Ah!" Luffy gasped and went wide-eyed.

Aokiji continued, "Or maybe I should say you're just as reckless and hard to figure out."

"GAH!" Luffy yelped. "You knew… my grandpa?"

"Seriously?" Usopp questioned. "Luffy's?"

"He's a marine," Ricky explained. "The old geezer's famous." Luffy had broken out into a cold sweat.

"Luffy, are you okay?" Usopp inquired, "What's wrong? You're sweating."

"Uh, nothing!" Luffy sputtered, "Really! I'm fine!"

"Grandpa can be pretty scary," Ricky supplied, "Honestly, that old jerk's always hated me. He blames me for Luffy wanting to become a pirate. But took it out on Luffy."

"Ricky! Shush!" Luffy pleaded with his brother. "This guy will tell Grandpa and then he'll find us and kick our asses!"

"You mean the old bastard will kick _your_ ass," Ricky corrected him. "He'll probably just throw me to the next island."

"Your grandpa helped me out once a long time ago, Monkey D. Luffy," Aokiji recounted. "That's why I'm here. I wanted to see you and Nico Robin together with my own eyes."

Aokiji frowned, "But now, I've changed my mind. Maybe I should just kill you guys now."

"Oh wonderful," Ricky muttered, "He's decided that he wants to kill us after all. This is why we should've run for it while we had the chance."

"The World Government still doesn't consider you a threat," Aokiji stated, "But I know enough of your history to see you're a formidable crew. You may be few in number but with the shrewd rogues gathered here… this crew likely will be a problem later on considering the circumstances of your original bounty, the numerous actions you've taken and the speed of your progress." Aokiji scanned the Straw Hats one-by-one. "I've fought pirates and other outlaws for most of my life. But thinking about how you'll turn out scares the hell outta me."

"Hey wait! Hold on a second!" Usopp protested, "You said you were here to check things out! Not to kill anyone!"

Aokiji ignored him and continued, "There's one among you that I consider the most dangerous. That would be you… Nico Robin."

"So despite everything you _really are_ here for Robin!" Luffy realized, "Now I'm really gonna kick your ass!"

"The size of her bounty isn't just a reflection of her strength and power," Aokiji informed them. "It also represents something else. That would be the level of threat and danger that she poses to the World Government. That's why I seventy-nine million berri bounty was placed on her head at the tender young age of eight. I'm pressed you were able to survive, especially as a child. You've managed to betray, sidestep and escape from everyone in your past. And then found a new partner to make use of. You survived in the underworld by being quick to switch sides. And now you've chosen this crew as your next haven."

"Again," Ricky said as he looked over at Robin, "You probably should have mentioned that you had a Marine Admiral for a stalker."

"That's enough jerk!" Sanji snapped at Aokiji. "I'm not just gonna stand here and let you speak to a lady like that! What kind of ridiculous grudge are you holding against Robin?"

Usopp ran over to Sanji and held the cook back. "Stop it, Sanji!"

"I don't have anything against her," Aokiji admitted, "The only connection we have between us is that I let her escape from me once. That's about it. It was a long time ago. You will all learn soon enough that protecting this troublesome woman leads to nothing but regret. If you need proof, consider this: every organization that she's had something to do with in the past has been annihilated. Not one single solitary member escaped except for her." The Admiral slowly stood up. "Why is that, Nico Robin?"

"…" Robin tensed.

"SHUT UP, YOU JERK!" Luffy shouted. "The past doesn't matter!"

"That's right!" Usopp exclaimed, "If it did we wouldn't have Ricky or a dangerous former Pirate Hunter or a degenerate conniving ex-thief woman on our crew!"

**BONK! **Nami clubbed Usopp over the head. "Don't go overboard!"

"Who we are now is more important than who we were," Sanji insisted.

"That's right!" Chopper chimed in. "Robin is our friend! Don't you dare say anything bad about her! You hear me!"

"If we're gonna die, we might as well put up the messiest fight possible," Ricky reasoned.

"I'm all for that," Zoro agreed.

"I see," Aokiji said, "So these poor fools don't suspect a thing."

"Just get to the point!" Robin snapped as she crossed her arms. "If you want to arrest me then why not just do it already! Trienta Fleur!" Thirty arms grew out of the tall, lanky marine's body and out of the ground at his feet. A dozen grabbed his legs, another dozen wrenched out his arms, two braced his back and the final four grabbed his chin.

"NO, ROBIN!" Usopp shrieked.

"Never thought you'd be the one to attack first," Ricky remarked.

"Oh my, did something I said strike a nerve?" Aokiji asked. "That's too bad. I must have overestimated how reasonable a woman you were."

"CLUTCH!" **KRRESSHH! **Robin's army of arms wrenched backwards and Aokiji's body shattered to pieces. Large chunks of ice laid where the Marine Admiral once stood.

"AAAAH! HE SHATTERED INTO A MILLION PIECES!" Chopper yelped.

**Krek-krek-krek… **The shattered pieces of ice joined together and form a large lump.

"IT DIDN'T WORK!" Usopp cried out in alarm. "WE'RE SCREWED!"

"I say we run for it," Ricky offered.

**Krek-krek-krek… **Two long lanky arms and a distinct head could be made out on the lump.

"RIGHT! I'M ALL FOR RICKY'S PLAN!" Usopp yelled. "EVERYBODY RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

**Krek-krek-krek…** Two long legs formed at the bottom of the ice lump and the ice started to fall away and revealed Aokiji's curly black hair and tanned skin.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Usopp and Chopper screamed as Aokiji reformed his broken body.

"Now, now," Aokiji scolded, "That wasn't a nice thing to do."

Aokiji grabbed a handful of grass as he stood up then threw it to the side. **Fwwwoooooo! **Aokiji blew out an ice cold breath and froze the grass into a long frozen stick. Aokiji grabbed the end and brandished the stick like a sword. **"Ice Saber!"** Aokiji readied his sword as he stared down at Robin. "I didn't want to have to kill you. But now…" Aokiji swung the ice sword down at Robin. Robin closed her eyes and flinched.

**KLANG! **Robin opened her eyes and found that Zoro had blocked Aokiji's sword with his own. The Admiral and the Swordsman silently stared at each other.

**SKISH! **Sanji jumped up in front of Aokiji, "SLICE… SHOOT!" **THWAK! **The cook kicked Aokiji's sword out of his hand and sent it flying away from him.

"YEEAAH!" Usopp cheered while Luffy charged in.

"I don't remember asking for your help, cook!" Zoro growled.

"Funny, I was gonna say the same thing to you, moss-head!" Sanji retorted from overhead.

"Time to go, Robin!" Ricky announced as she grabbed Robin and pulled her away.

"GUUUMM… GUUUMM…" Luffy ran at Aokiji and stretched his arm out behind him.

**Whap! **Aokiji grabbed Zoro's arm then caught Sanji's leg. **Whap! **

"…BULLET!" **WHAAAM! **Luffy slammed his fist into Aokiji's stomach. The tall admiral lurched backwards but he didn't fall.

**Krek-krek-krek… **Ice started to grow on Luffy's fist from where it had made contact with Aokiji. "It's cold!" **Krek-krek-krek!** The ice continued up Luffy's arm to his elbow.

**Krek-krek-krek… **The same thing happened to Zoro's arm and Sanji's leg where Aokiji had grabbed them.

"AAAHH! HE FROZE 'EM! HE FROZE 'EM!" Chopper shrieked while Usopp screamed. "AAAAAHHHHH!"

"HE GOT ALL THREE OF THEM!" Nami exclaimed upon seeing how easily the Monster Trio had been dispatched, "AT ONCE!"

"AAUUGGHH!" Luffy, Zoro and Sanji all howled as they dropped to the ground and clutched at their frozen limbs.

"Hey, put me down!" Robin yelped as Ricky swept her up onto his shoulder and raced off.

"See ya around, Frosty!" Ricky taunted the Admiral.

"What a pain," Aokiji grumbled as he surveyed the other Straw Hats then turned and chased after Ricky and Robin.

**Krek-krek-krek! **Ice gathered at Aokiji's feet as he ran along the grass after Ricky and Robin. **Krek-krek-krek…** His feet grew until they were each over a foot long. **"Ice Skis…"** **SWWIISSSHHH!** Aokiji used the ice at his feet as a trail and skied after Ricky.

**-x-**

"He almost froze them solid!" Chopper exclaimed as he rushed over to the fallen Straw Hats. "I have to help them quickly! If they get frostbite their limbs will start to rot!" Chopper looked beside him and saw Usopp frozen in shock. "Usopp! What're you doing? We've gotta help them now!"

"I want to help…" Usopp whimpered as his legs shook in terror, "But I can't seem to move! Did he freeze me too?"

"NO!" Chopper snapped at him, "YOU'RE JUST TOO SCARED TO MOVE, COWARD!"

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Usopp screamed, "LUFFY! SANJI! ZORO!"

Nami stared after Ricky, Robin and Aokiji then looked down at Luffy, Zoro and Sanji. "If he took out these three that easily, Ricky and Robin don't stand a chance!"

"Ricky… Robin…" Luffy growled as he pushed himself up off of the ground. His ice coated arm hung at his side. "I WON'T LET HIM GET THEM!"

"Grr… Ricky…" Zoro grunted as he pushed himself up with his own ice covered arm hanging at his side.

"Miss. Robin…" Sanji mumbled as he pushed himself up despite his iced-over leg.

"I'M GONNA KICK THAT MARINE'S ASS!" Luffy shouted as he raced off along the trail of ice that Aokiji had left. Zoro, Nami, Sanji and Chopper chased after him.

"GUYS! WE'RE RUNNING THE WRONG WAY!" Usopp whined as he ran behind them.

**-x-**

"You'll never be able to escape him," Robin pointed out, "You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Ricky replied as he ran with Robin thrown over his shoulder. "But he's after you. That means he's going to chase me. And if he's chasing me then he's not freezing all of the others."

**Krek-krek-krek… **From her vantage point over Ricky's shoulder, Robin saw the grass freeze in a path and Aokiji skiing towards them.

"LOOK OUT!" Robin called out as the ice closed in on them.

**SKISH! **Ricky jumped to the side to avoid the incoming ice which allowed Aokiji to catch up.

**SKUUSSHH… **Aokiji skidded a stop and surveyed Ricky and Robin. "So you've decided to stop running."

"I've led you far enough away from the others," Ricky reasoned as he put Robin down. "Robin, run. Get the others, get to the ship and get out of here. I'll hold him off as long as I can."

"I… I won't leave you!" Robin insisted.

"He wants to _kill you_!" Ricky reminded her, "Get outta here!"

"You'd lay down your life for her?" Aokiji inquired. "She's a cursed woman. She will bring nothing but despair upon your crew. It's not worth it."

"This cursed woman is my friend," Ricky replied, "If I die here while she and the others all escape then it'll have been worth it. ROBIN! GO! NOW!" Ricky gave Robin a shove and she finally complied and stated running.

Aokiji turned to go after her. **SKISH!** Ricky jumped passed the Admiral and blocked his path.

"_I'm about to lose another one…" _Robin thought to herself as she fled from the battle.

"You know what I'm capable of," Aokiji pointed out as he stared down Ricky, "And yet you stand in my way. You do realize that this is a fight you can't hope to win."

"Yeah, I know," Ricky agreed, "But as long as I can be a pain-in-the-ass and make sure that you don't get what you want, it'll still count as a win for me."

Aokiji grinned faintly, "I see. So you really are the red-headed pain-in-the-ass that Garp complains about. The one that he claims corrupted his grandson into becoming a pirate. I always thought he meant 'Red Haired' Shanks."

"And what brings you to that conclusion?" Ricky asked as he slipped a Dial out of his pocket.

"I heard that Shanks lost his arm while he was harbored on Dawn Island," Aokiji stated. "That's where you two are from, isn't it? And now your Captain wears Shanks' old straw hat."

"Shanks was probably a contributing factor," Ricky admitted, "But I got to Luffy before he did."

Ricky lifted his foot and mounted the Dial onto the bottom. _"I've got one shot at this. The Sea Stone should allow me to hurt him. And Luffy loaned me one of his punches for the Dial. Of course, he thought it was just an Impact Dial."_

"TAKE THIS!" Ricky shouted as he jumped up and shot his leg out at Aokiji's face. "Javelin… REJECT KICK!"

**Whap! **Aokiji caught Ricky by the ankle and stopped his foot an inch from his chin.

"Nice try," Aokiji said as Ricky dropped to the ground and hopped on one leg. "But I read the reports. I know that you have Sea Stone in your possession. I'm not about to let you get a hit in."

"Don't mock me!" Ricky growled, "Just do it, you bastard!"

"**Ice Time…" FWOOOSSHH! **Aokiji's hand on Ricky's handle became pure ice and the ice quickly spread to Ricky's leg.

"AAUGGHH!" Ricky screamed as his foot froze and the ice started to work up his leg. **Krek-krek-krek… **The ice reached his waist then branched off. One bit went down and froze his other leg while the rest froze his chest. **Krek-krek-krek… **"UUGGGNN!" The ice spread out from Ricky's chest and went down his arms to his hands. **Krek-krek-krek… **"AHH!" The ice continued upward and finally covered Ricky's head.

Aokiji pulled his hand away and Ricky was left completely encased in ice. He leg was still raised from his missed kick.

Aokiji frowned at his frozen opponent, "I could smash you and kill you now. But as I told you, I've read the reports. You're a former Spade Pirate and a former Whitebeard Pirate. You were rumored to have been killed at the hands of Blackbeard when he betrayed your crew. That resulted in Whitebeard annihilating the G-5 Marine Base and Portgaz D. Ace spending the last year out for revenge on a manhunt."

"The World Government isn't quite ready for the repercussions that killing you might cause," Aokiji continued. "Be thankful that you have powerful friends in high places. That's the only reason that I've spared your life. Otherwise, not even Garp could have saved you."

Aokiji turned and followed his ice trail after Robin and left the frozen Ricky behind him.

**-x-**

**Rubber vs. Ice:**

**-x-**

The Straw Hats raced along Aokiji's icy trail but stopped short when they found Robin running along it in the opposite direction.

"Robin! What's going on?" Luffy questioned as Robin ran up to them. "Where's Ricky?"

"He's trying to distract Aokiji," Robin answered, "He's buying us time to get back to the ship."

"YOU JUST LEFT HIM THERE ALONE?" Nami demanded.

"I didn't want to!" Robin insisted, "He all but pushed me down the path!"

"He can't beat that ice-guy alone!" Luffy exclaimed.

"I know, Luffy," Robin agreed, "None of us can. Even if you weren't still recovering from your fight with Foxy, you still wouldn't stand a chance against this man. He's a monster!"

"ROBIN, LOOK OUT!" Chopper suddenly shrieked.

A tall shadow fell over Robin and the archeologist immediately paled.

"You've made some very loyal friends, Nico Robin," Aokiji remarked.

"Wait… if he's here…" Nami whimpered, "Then Ricky…"

"I left him alive," Aokiji stated. "But he might not be for long if he doesn't get thawed out."

"NOOO!" Nami wailed as she bolted straight passed the terrifying Admiral and raced onward down the icy path.

**Whap! **Aokiji slammed his fist on the ground. **"Ice Time Capsule!" FWWOOOOOSSSHHH! **A wave rose up off of Aokiji's hand and rushed at the Straw Hats

Robin recognized the attack and dove out of the way. **SKISH! **"DON'T LET IT TOUCH YOU!" she yelled back at the Straw Hats. "THAT ICE WILL FREEZE ANYTHING IT TOUCHES!"

**SKA-SKISH!** The Straw Hats scattered to avoid the rushing wave of ice.

Aokiji stood up and stared down at Robin. "You'll never change, Nico Robin."

"No, that's not true!" Robin insisted as she stood back up to face him.

**WHUP! **Before she could react, Aokiji lunged and wrapped his arms around her for an icy-hug.

"ROBIN! GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Luffy shouted. "WATCH OUT!"

**Krek-krek-krek… **Ice spread out from Aokiji's arms and started to cover Robin's body.

"I'm not who I…" Robin gasped as the ice trailed down her long legs and up to her shoulders, neck and face. **Krek-krek-krek… **

"ROBIN!" Sanji hollered.

**Krek-krek-krek… **The ice covered Robin's head and froze her solid.

"AH!" Zoro yelped in surprise.

"AAAAAHHHH! ROBIIIIN!" Usopp and Chopper screamed in horror.

The whole process had only taken a couple of seconds. The Straw Hats stared wide-eyed as Aokiji pulled back and released the frozen Archeologist.

**-x-**

"RICKY, NO!" Nami cried out when she reached the end of the ice trail and spotted the frozen Treasure Hunter. "Nonononono! Please, you can't be dead! I can't lose you!" She stared at Ricky in horror. His leg was still raised and his mouth was opened in a pained scream.

"He said you were still alive," Nami recounted, "I'll… I'll thaw you out… somehow…" Nami turned around and pressed her back against Ricky then lashed her leg out behind her and kicked the leg that Ricky was standing on. **Thwak! **Ricky toppled forward onto Nami.

"UGGHH!" Nami groaned as she struggled to hold Ricky up. She was still wearing Ricky's long trench coat which shielded her from the cold. "Damn, that ice weighs a ton… What were you thinking, idiot?"

Nami strained under the weight of Ricky and the ice he was encased in as she trudged back along the icy path.

**-x-**

"Grrrrr…" Luffy growled as he stared from his frozen Nakama to the Admiral responsible for it. "YOU BASTARD!"

"Stop yelling," Aokiji said, "If you thaw her out carefully, she'll live. However, her body is extremely fragile in this state so you'll need to handle her with care. If any part of her breaks, she'll die!" Aokiji pulled back his hand, "For example, if I were to smash her like this…"

"STOOOOP!" Luffy screamed as he dove forward.

**SWISH! **Aokiji's fist passed through empty air. He looked down and saw that Luffy had knocked the frozen Robin out of the way and had caught her before she hit the ground.

"That was close!" Luffy gasped as bent over backwards to keep Robin from hitting the ground.

"Hmm," Aokiji grunted as he raised his foot to shatter Robin with a stomp.

"WAAAH!" **SWIISH! **Usopp surprised even himself, when he vaulted over Luffy and swept Robin out of the way before Aokiji could crush her.

**Whomp! **The Admiral ended up stomping on Luffy instead.

"WOOHOO!" Usopp cheered as he stood near Chopper with Robin tucked under his arm.

"ALRIGHT!" Chopper exclaimed. "THAT WAS AMAZING, USOPP!"

"What in the hell are you doing?" Aokiji growled as he glared at them.

"USOPP! CHOPPER!" Luffy called out as he rolled away from Aokiji. "QUICK! TAKE ROBIN AND RUN BACK TO THE SHIP! THAW HER OUT AND KEEP HER SAFE!"

"Right!" Usopp and Chopper replied. "You got it, Captain!"

The two of them all too happy to run away as they carried Robin between them.

"Hurry!" Usopp said as Chopper held Robin in his Heavy Point form, "But be gentle, okay?"

"It's cold!" Chopper exclaimed.

"I know, but Robin's even colder, genius!" Usopp pointed out.

"Don't bother," Aokiji said as he slowly followed after the fleeing duo. "The world would be a much better place without that woman in it."

**SHINK! **Zoro stood up and held his sword out beside him with is good arm to block his path.

"Not to split hairs," Zoro told the Admiral, "But a Pirate Crew consists of people just like that."

"You've got that right, Pirate Hunter," Aokiji agreed, "Now kindly step aside."

"LIKE HELL!" Sanji snapped as he ran up behind Zoro.

"WAIT! DON'T ATTACK HIM!" Luffy commanded his remaining two Nakama. Zoro and Sanji stared at Luffy in surprise. "Stay back and don't interfere. I'm gonna fight him one-on-one."

"…" Aokiji turned around to face Luffy who stood in a fighting stance still covered in bandages from his fight with Foxy and now with a partially frozen arm.

"**GUYS! I'VE GOT RICKY!" **The three Straw Hats and the Admiral turned to see Nami staggering towards them with the frozen Ricky on her back.

"Damn it!" Zoro cursed, "He got Ricky too!"

"Get him back to the ship," Luffy ordered, "I'll handle things form here."

"Alright, fine," Zoro conceded as he went to Nami and hefted Ricky onto his own back.

"What do you say?" Luffy challenged the Admiral. "The two of us can settle this on our own!"

"Fine by me," Aokiji accepted as ice spread across his body, "But since I don't have a ship to take you back… then I'll just have to kill you."

**-x-**

Back at the Going Merry, Usopp and Chopper had taken Robin into the bathroom and put her a tub filled with hot water.

"She… she can't breathe like this, can she?" Usopp questioned.

"I think she's in a state of suspended animation," Chopper told him.

"Does that mean she'll die if we don't do something?" Usopp asked.

"If we warm her up too quickly, she might shatter," Chopper explained. "We have to restore her temperature from the inside out."

"Are you sure that this is really gonna work?" Usopp inquired as he scooped up a cup of hot water and dumped it on Robin.

"I don't know," Chopper confessed. "But it's the only thing I—"

"Whoa! Wait a minute!" Usopp cut him off. "YOU DON'T KNOW? This is Robin's life we're talking about here!"

"I know…" Chopper replied as tears welled up in his eyes, "But I've never treated anyone whose entire body was frozen before! I know that Aokiji said she was still alive but I just don't see how that could be possible!"

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT CRAP!" Usopp snapped at the reindeer, "If you can't do anything to save her then no one in the whole world can! You understand me? You are the Doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates, got it?"

"I KNOW! OKAY?" Chopper yelled back, "JUST SHUT UP AND STOP YELLING AT ME!"

Usopp grew quiet and the two of them stared at Robin. The ice at top of the archeologist's head was beginning to melt off under the hot shower spray and as the ice melted away, the blue-black color returned to Robin's hair.

Usopp and Chopper went back to scooping up cups of hot water and dumping them on Robin's body.

**"CHOPPER!" **Zoro's loud shout came from outside.

Chopper rushed from the bathroom, darted through the storage room and came out on the deck where he spotted Zoro, Sanji and Nami on the shore.

"What's going on?" Chopper inquired. "What're the three of you doing here? Where's Luffy?"

"What're we supposed to do with him?" Zoro asked as he pointed back at Ricky with his good arm.

"GAH! RICKY'S FROZEN TOO!" Chopper shrieked.

"SHUT UP AND FOCUS!" Nami yelled at him. "What are we supposed to do about it?"

"I don't know!" the panicked Doctor admitted, "We've already got Robin in the tub… Ricky won't fit in there with her… especially with his leg up like that… Um… We need hot water…"

"Hot water…" Nami repeated as her mind scrambled to think of something. "Heat!" Nami pulled out her Clima-Tact and pointed one specific segment at the patch of water in front of the Merry. "HEAT BALL!" **BLUP! BLUP! BLUP! BLUP! **Nami swung the pipe and sent a stream of red bubbles into the water.

Between the two of them, Zoro and Nami carried the frozen Ricky into the sea water that Nami had just heated up.

"What're we supposed to do about this frozen arm and leg?" Sanji questioned Chopper.

"Douse every part of your body that's frozen in water," Chopper instructed.

**SPLASH! **A moment later, Sanji had cannonballed into the water along with Zoro, Nami and the frozen Ricky. Zoro quickly submerged himself and dunked his arm in the water.

"Will this do Chopper?" Sanji asked.

"Yes," Chopper answered, "Once the ice begins to melt start rubbing the affected areas and then come up to the ship right away! Nami, make sure to keep heating up that water. If you can rub him you'll speed up the melting process."

"Right," Nami agreed.

"I've gotta go help with Robin," Chopper said as he darted back inside.

Nami grabbed Ricky's shoulders and straddling his raised leg. "Hold on Ricky..." Nami took a deep breath and dunked them both underwater. She raised the Heat Pole to her mouth and expended half her breath as she blew into it. **BLUP! **A red air bubble came out and washed over Ricky's face. Nami acted fast on her remaining breath and rubbed at his face which caused the ice to slowly peel away to reveal cold skin underneath.

**Splash! **Nami and Ricky broke the surface less than a minute later.

"Huff… huff… huff…" The sound of Ricky's labored breathing was music to Nami's ears.

Usopp came out of the storage room a couple minutes later and was surprised to find Zoro and Sanji on the deck rubbing their previously frozen limbs.

"What the-why're you guys here?" Usopp questioned. "What happened? Where's Luffy?"

"Fighting Aokiji one-on-one," Sanji answered.

"ONE-ON-ONE!" Usopp exclaimed. "You mean you left Luffy to face him all by himself?"

"Those were the Captain's orders," Sanji stated.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Usopp demanded, "Can't you tell when an order is unreasonable? I can't believe that you would be so cold-hearted that you would just leave him!"

**WHAM! **Sanji shot up and slammed Usopp back against the wall. "HEY!" the cook snapped. "IT WAS A DUEL! CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? IT'S WHAT HE WANTED!"

"Stop it, both of you!" Zoro ordered them. "This isn't the time!"

"…" Usopp and Sanji quieted down and stopped fighting.

"Right now we need to stay focused," Zoro resolved. "Whether this decision was one of his passing whims or not, it doesn't matter. Whatever happens, we have to be ready to deal with it, understand?"

**-x-**

"Huff… huff…" Luffy panted as he faced off with Aokiji. Spikes of ice were scattered all around them. But none of it was on Luffy with the exception of his previously frozen arm.

"You really are an odd one, aren't you?" Aokiji remarked.

"RAAAAAH!" Luffy roared as he charged at the Admiral.

Aokiji reached out his icy hand. **SWISH! **Luffy ducked under Aokiji's outstretched arm then lashed out his leg. **THWHAM! **Luffy swung his leg straight up and sent Aokiji flying up into the air.

**FWOOF! **Luffy quickly inflated himself with his Gum Gum Balloon technique then twisted his rubber body and compressed all the air inside him. Luffy bent down and released the air from his mouth and sent himself corkscrewing up into the air. **FWOOOOO! **

"GUUUUUUM… GUUUUUUMMM… STOOOORRRMMM!" **WHISH-WHISH-WHISH! **Luffy lashed out with a vicious barraged of punches as he flew up to meet the airborne Admiral. **POW-POW-POW!** **KRESH! **Luffy's fists connected with Aokiji's icy body and shattered it to pieces. But he kept going and used the attack he'd beaten Crocodile with to smash the chunks of ice into tiny flakes of ice. **POW-POW-POW-POW-POW!**

Luffy's assault had completely destroyed Aokiji's body. The biggest bits of him that could be seen were snowflake-sized bits of ice.

**Krek-krek-krek… **But the shattered ice gathered up above Luffy in a large form. **WOOOSH! **Much faster than before, the tiny flakes of ice came together and reformed Aokiji's lanky body. **WHAP! **The Admiral grabbed onto Luffy as they continued to fly upward into the air. The attack that had beaten Crocodile was no match for a Marine Admiral.

"**Ice Time…" **Aokiji's body once again became covered in ice which quickly spread to Luffy. **Krek-krek-krek!**

"Uugghh…" Luffy groaned as the ice worked its way up his body until it covered his head.

**-x-**

"Come on, we've gotta go find Luffy!" Sanji insisted.

"If nothing else, we should see how the duel ended," Zoro realized as he stood up.

Usopp had gone back into the bathroom to help Chopper thaw out Robin.

"Nami, how's Ricky?" Zoro asked.

"I managed to melt the ice off of his shoulders," Nami reported. "Look, I can move his arms." Zoro and Sanji watched as Nami raised Ricky's arms up over his head. His forearms and hands were still covered in ice but it had been melted off of his upper arms, shoulders and parts of his chest.

"Then we'll leave him to you," Zoro decided, "We're going back for Luffy."

"Good luck, Nami-swan," Sanji called back to her as he and Zoro leapt off of the ship and raced back to the battlefield.

**-x-**

Aokiji frowned as he sat facing the frozen Luffy. The rubber pirate's fist was still extended from his failed final attack.

"_What do you say?" Luffy had challenged him, "The two of us can settle this on our own."_

"Aw man, you got me," Aokiji realized. "The moment I agreed to fight you one-on-one, I settled to fight you and you alone. But that was your plan, wasn't it? If I were to attack your crew now, I'd be the bad guy here, isn't that right, Captain." Aokiji smirked, "Or did you actually think that you could beat me?"

Aokiji stood up and dusted off his pants. "Let me give you a piece of advice. Keep a close eye on Nico Robin. Eventually, she'll grow to be more than you can handle. The nature of the violent fate that she was born into will be a greater danger than you can possible imagine. More of a burden than you could ever hope to bear. That's what it means to have that woman as part of your crew." Aokiji raised his foot and held it in front of Luffy's face. "You have been warned, Monkey D. Luffy."

**KRESH! **Aokiji shot his foot forward and smashed it through ice. Ice that was beside Luffy, not on him. The Admiral had decided to spare Luffy's life.

**-x-**

"Usopp! Get me some towels!" Chopper ordered. They'd managed to melt all of the ice off of Robin. But she was still unconscious and needed to be dried off and warmed up.

**-x-**

**KREK! **Nami snapped Ricky's raised leg down and admired her handiwork. Using considerably colder water than what was in the shower, she'd managed to melt the ice off of Ricky's face, shoulders, upper arms, waist and upper legs. That was more than half of it.

"Almost there Ricky," Nami announced, "I've got you…"

**-x-**

"Hurry up, cook!" Zoro called out to Sanji as they raced along the shore to recover the Captain.

**-x-**

"It would be easy to break you and kill you right now," Aokiji addressed Luffy. "But I have a debt to honor. Consider us even for you taking care of Crocodile." Aokiji reached down and picked up his coat then headed off. "Oh, and Smoker said to…" Aokiji trailed off, "Oh, I forget what his message was. Who cares?"

Aokiji walked off and left Luffy alone. At least for two seconds until Zoro and Sanji arrived.

"There he is!" Zoro pointed out when he noticed the frozen Captain.

"LUFFY!" Sanji shouted.

"He's still in one piece," Zoro noted.

"That's good news," Sanji realized.

"I'll carry him," Zoro and Sanji said at the same time. "Let's get him to the ship. STOP SAYING WHAT I'M SAYING!"

**-x-**

**Whup… **Ricky reached out and put his ice-covered hands on Nami's shoulders.

"Ricky…" Nami gasped, overjoyed to see him moving on his own. She reached up and grabbed his hands then rubbed at the ice until it flaked off.

"Thanks…" Ricky mumbled. He hands slid up from her shoulders and cupped her chin and surprised Nami when he pulled her to him and kissed her.

"Mmmm…" Nami moaned against Ricky's lips as she eagerly kissed him back.

He was probably delirious. But damn it if she didn't want this. She'd lugged his frozen ass back to the others and had spent all this time melting the ice off him. She deserved some kind of compensation. It wasn't taking advantage of him is he had initiated the kiss.

Nami kissed him until she was nearly out of breath. But that was when Ricky's hands slid up from her chin to the back of her head. Nami tried to pull away and break the kiss but Ricky's grip kept her locked in place. She was running out of air! Was he trying to kill her? OH NO!

Nami's eyes flew opened and she stared into the cold, deadly eye of Red Eye.

**-x-**

**Thawing:**

**-x-**

Nami thrashed and struggled to break free from Red Eye's hold but despite still being partially frozen, he was too strong and she couldn't break his grip.

He had her mouth covered so she couldn't call for help. But there was no one to call out to anyway. Usopp and Chopper were occupied with Robin. Zoro and Sanji were off recovering Luffy. There was no sign of Ricky anywhere. Nami was all alone against Red Eye.

**Krek-krek… **The ice around Ricky's knees shattered and broke off as he bent them and started to drag Nami down under water. Nami desperately took a breath in through her nose before she went under. **Sploosh!**

Oh god. He was trying to drown her. She'd been suckered in and now she was alone and at his mercy. Nami struggled and beat on Ricky's shoulders but her blows lost a great deal of their impact underwater. They probably wouldn't have done anything anyway.

She was already running out of air. She'd be dead by the time Zoro and Sanji returned. Her only saving grace was the fact that the Eye was still covered. If Red Eye had his powers, she'd be dead already.

Desperate, Nami shot her leg up between Ricky's legs. **Whup! **Red Eye hadn't needed the Eye to see that attack coming and clamped his legs closed around Nami's knee.

Nami was growing light headed. Red Eye's hold was like a vice. There was no breaking it. He'd protected his most obvious weak spot and now Nami was almost out of air, almost out of strength and almost out of time.

Panic set in. Nami writhed and flailed against him. She clawed at Ricky's sides as she dug her fingers through the remaining ice into his shirt and the bandages wrapped around him. Wait—bandages! Ricky had been injured during the Davy Back Fights! Coincidentally, his stomach was one of the last spots that was still frozen.

**KROOSH! **Nami shattered the ice as she drove her elbow into his injured stomach. Red Eye reeled back but still held on. **WHUM! **Nami shot her free leg up and drove her knee into Ricky's stomach.

**BLUP! **SHE DID IT! SHE FINALLY FORCED HIM OFF OF HER! Nami lashed out and hit him again. **WHUM! **Red Eye recoiled and Nami quickly shot herself back up to the surface.

**WHAP! **Red Eye grabbed her by the ankle. Nami's lungs burned and she flailed her arms as he dragged her back down to him. Nami desperately fished into her shirt and pulled out the three segments for her Clima-Tact. She quickly stuck them together to form a long staff just as Red Eye pulled her down to him.

**WHUMP! **Nami hit him upside the head with her Clima-Tact. Red Eye's hand fell off of her and his eye rolled back. **WHUMP! **Nami hit him against for good measure then shot herself upward.

**SPLASH!** "AAAH!" Nami broke the surface and took a deep breath of precious air. SHE WAS STILL ALIVE! Nami dove and swam to the shore, looking to put as much distance between her and Red Eye as she could. At this point, Admiral Aokiji would be a more welcome sight.

**Thud! **Nami dropped down on the grassy shore and finally managed to catch her breath. She looked back over her shoulder and saw Ricky's unconscious body floating on the water in front of the Merry.

"**MISS. NAMI! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" **Nami turned to see Sanji and Zoro come running with the frozen Luffy. He was still in one piece. Aokiji had left him alive.

Of course, _now_ they show up, once the disaster had been averted and she'd saved herself. Nami back at Ricky. Both personalities were still unconscious. The only ice left on him was on his forearms, back, calves and feet. Right now Luffy needed the most help and had to be thawed out.

"I'm fine," Nami finally answered. "I'm just… catching my breath. Can one of you guys get Ricky onto the ship so we can dry him off? Luffy needs to be thawed." Zoro trudged off into the water to retrieve Ricky but Sanji was still eying her with concern. "I'm fine. Really. Hurry up and get Luffy onto the ship!"

Sanji nodded and finally left her. She didn't tell him about her close call. There were more pressing issues to deal with and it would only create more drama.

**-x-**

Aokiji stood on yet another one of Long Ring Long Land's shores. He was on the opposite side from the path he'd frozen to the next island for Tonjit.

The Marine Admiral straddled an ordinary-looking bicycle as he put his white suit jacket on and pulled out a piece of paper.

"If they follow their Log Pose from this island their next destination is… Water 7," he realized. "The City of Water. Oh my, would you look at that. They're getting really close to our Headquarters, aren't they?"

With that in mind, Aokiji set off and rode his bike straight off the shore and onto the sea.

**Krek-krek-krek… **Aokiji's Ice Bike created a thin path of ice as he pedaled across the water.

"Oh, excuse me," Aokiji called out to a dolphin as he pedaled passed it.

**EEK-EEP! **The dolphin squeaked in reply.

**RING-DING! **Aokiji rang his bicycle's bell as he rode off and left the Straw Hats behind him.

**-x-**

Chopper emerged from the storage room to address Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji on the deck.

"All their hearts… ARE BEATING!" the reindeer announced with relieved tears in his eyes.

"YEAH!" the four Straw Hats all cheered at the great news.

"LUFFY!" Usopp called out.

"MISS ROBIN!" Sanji swooned as he and the Sniper raced towards the opened door.

**SWISH! **Chopper transformed into his Heavy Point form and blocked the door.

"NO!" Chopper scolded them, "You can't go in yet! I don't want them disturbed, understand?"

"Hey, Doctor Chopper," Sanji said, "How 'bout I make them some food?"

Chopper shrunk back down and did a happy dance. "Calling me 'Doctor' won't make me happy or anything, you stupid jerk!" Chopper told him. "But… I suppose some warm drinks would be nice for when they wake up. I'll carry them in to them later."

"AYE-AYE, SIR!" Sanji happily replied as he raced up to the galley to make the drinks.

Zoro looked over at Nami who was silently gathering towels. "Hey Nami, should we set sail?"

"No, not yet," Nami answered, "Not while the Captain's out of commission. The Log Pose has our new heading but let's rest here until they all recover."

"What's with you?" Zoro questioned.

"Nothing," Nami replied, "Why do you care?'

"You're quiet for once," Zoro admitted.

"I'm fine," Nami insisted.

Zoro turned in time to see Usopp slide down the wall and drop to the floor. "What's wrong Usopp?" Zoro asked, "You look beat."

"Are there gonna be more guys like him?" the exhausted sniper wondered, "…coming after us wherever we go? This is crazy… I don't know how much more of it I can take."

"Get some sleep, idiot," Zoro replied, "You're just exhausted, okay?"

**-x-**

Night fell. The Straw Hats all slept together in the Galley.

Nami and Robin's cloud mattresses had been brought upstairs for Luffy, Ricky and Robin to sleep on under the close supervision of the crew. Robin had her own bed while Luffy and Ricky were sharing Nami's.

"Zzzz… zzzz…" Luffy snored while Ricky laid silent next to him.

Zoro was sleeping in the corner with his head resting on his swords.

Nami was in another corner with her legs hugged to her chest.

Usopp and Sanji had fallen asleep sitting at the dining table and had their heads down on it.

Chopper was sound asleep in front of the two cloud beds that contained his three patients.

"…" Robin laid silent on her own bed and stared up at the ceiling.

**Whump! **Ricky rolled off of his bed and hit the ground then pulled himself up on Robin's bed and stared down at her.

"So why you didn't tell us that a Marine Admiral was keeping tabs on you?"

"I didn't know," Robin confessed. "I've only seen him once. Twenty years ago he allowed me to escape from him. I hadn't seen him until today."

Ricky sighed as he pulled back and sat on the ground in between the beds. "It still would've been nice to know that an Admiral had a personal interest in one of us. Then we could've at least prepared for him and wouldn't have been caught off guard."

"**Why did you do it?"**

Ricky turned and saw Nami staring at him from the corner. She'd been watching him the whole time to see which personality woke up.

"Hey," Ricky greeted her, "Thanks for thawing me out."

Nami scowled. He had no idea. He had no clue that he'd nearly killed her.

"Answer me!" Nami ordered. "What… were you thinking? You knew how strong he was. You knew you didn't stand a chance. Why did you do it?"

"Simple," Ricky said, "I was protecting what I love."

Nami flinched. Damn him. Half of him loved her and the other half was trying to kill her. The incident earlier had been too close for comfort and she knew now that Ricky desperately needed to gain control over his evil personality.

Of course, she couldn't tell him that. The first time he'd nearly killed her he ended up breaking up with her. Who knew what he'd do if she told him how close his evil side had gotten this time.

"You know I hate it when you do that self-sacrifice crap!" Nami snapped at him before she shot up and ran out of the room.

She knew now that Ricky was justified in breaking things off with her. He had no control over his other personality and he needed to find a way to rein it in.

She'd nearly lost him twice. First to Foxy and next to Aokiji. Both times it had felt like her world was ending. She still cared about him. She still loved him. But she knew now that as much as she hated it, he would never be hers until he finally managed to pull himself together.

"_Simple, I was protecting what I love."_

"Bastard!" Nami spat. As much as she wanted to hear those words, now she hated them. They were a mocking taunt of something that she wanted with all her heart but couldn't have.

**-x-**

Ricky turned to Robin. "Okay, you've gotta help me out on this one. What did I do this time?"

"We might have missed something," Robin admitted then frowned. "Perhaps she's upset that you decided to face one of the most powerful marines in the world on your own. Maybe she didn't want you to give yourself up for her."

"Is that why she's upset with me, or why you're upset with me?" Ricky inquired.

"Could be both," Robin suggested.

"Sorry," Ricky apologized. "But seeing him again had clearly caught you off guard. You were in no state to fight him. Things probably wouldn't have gone much differently if you had."

"You were right about what you said during that race," Robin told him, "I don't have a lot of friends. But the last thing I want is to see one of them die trying to protect me. Not again."

"Friends protect each other Robin…" Luffy suddenly mumbled. Ricky and Robin looked over at him in surprise. "…but Nakama protect each other no matter what."

**-x-**

And that's the Davy Back Fight Arc. I cut it a little short but I decided to make a more obvious split between the two arcs.

I'm pleased at how fast I managed to get through this arc. I managed to post a chapter a week and it only took two months to finish. That's a major improvement from Another Nakama 3.

That being said, I will be taking another month-long break to refresh the old batteries and get some distracting side-projects out of my system. I'm sorry for the delay but I've found that this is the best way for me to stay focused on the current story arc.

I'll be back with the first chapter of the Water 7 Arc at the beginning of May.

'Till Next Time…

Peace!


	9. ABANDONED

**Abandoned Notice**

Dear readers,

You've probably figured this out already since I haven't updated anything in over a year now but I'm posting this letter to confirm what you've already assumed: **this story is now officially abandoned**.

I know at some point I promised that I would never abandon this story but I made that promise when I was a slacker college student that naively thought he could rewrite a series that has been going on for almost twenty years now. I made some decent headway through the series but at this point I no longer have the time or the motivation to continue writing this massive monster of a fanfic series. I spent a large portion of the last year attempting to rearrange my schedule to allocate designated writing time but I couldn't make it work without sacrificing sleep or my social life. Around November my failure to make any significant or quality progress with the next chapter was starting to frustrate me. That's when I realized that I was no longer enjoying writing this story.

I've always had this habit of dropping relationships that I've deemed 'cancerous'. These are relationships where I feel like I'm giving too much of myself and am getting too little in return. My relationship with Another Nakama sadly fell into that category. I was no longer enjoying the writing experience and the time requirements to continue were simply too demanding. So in a fit of annoyed rage I completely severed my relationship with fanfiction. This included setting a filter that sent any emails I received from this site to my spam folder. I apologize to anyone that sent me a PM or a review since the beginning of December. I haven't received them.

Following the 'breakup' I had a happy and much less stressful holiday. I started the year 2016 with no intention of going back to writing fanfiction. Then I saw _Zootopia_ (and loved it). Nick Wilde reminded me of my own sly fox character. Then I saw the One Piece 'Adventure of Nebulandia' special. Foxy's reappearance and the Straw Hats going up against a Marine Tactician reminded me of the last two arcs that I completed in this story. I went back and reread those arcs and decided to give one final attempt at writing a new chapter. I succeeded. It took a night without sleep and completely abandoning some weekend plans that I had with my girlfriend but I finished the chapter that I had been struggling with for months. I was miserable the next day at work but I had _finally _managed it. I was all set to make my big return and post the new chapter but then I stopped and thought to myself… 'It took you this much time and effort to finish just one chapter. There are still hundreds more to go. There's no feasible way for you to possibly finish this gargantuan monster of a story.'

So it was with a heavy heart that I decided to stand by my earlier decision to cut ties with fanfiction. I owe a lot of who I am today to this last decade that I've spent as a fanfiction author. My writing has improved tremendously because of fanfiction (I still grimace at some of my early chapters). I got through college because of fanfiction (it's easy to write a seven page paper when you write twenty page chapters for fun). I got a part-time jobs as a night crew audio transcriber for a television series because of fanfiction (Of course I know what this job entails I write pages of dialogue word for word as a hobby). But now its time for me to put this stage of my life behind me and move on.

I'm posting this letter today exactly ten years after I posted the first chapter of my first story because I felt I owed it to my readers who devoted so much time reading this story. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this fanfic over the years. I'll consider myself accomplished if just one reader found enjoyment or inspiration from my work. But before I leave I'm going to take off the spam filter on fanfiction dot net. I realize that I left a lot unanswered and unfulfilled. So for my devoted readers who desire some completion… I'm willing to spoil this unfinished story for you. For the next month I'll publicly respond to reviews and answer any questions you may have about where I planned to go with this story. I'll be posting my responses here as I get them so be sure to check on this 'chapter' again in a month's time then I'll raise anchor and sail off into the sunset as I leave this part of my life behind.

Thank you for everything,

QPython

**SPOILER CORNER:**

**Question from J0HNS1LVER: The fate of Ricky x Nami**

Yes. They were eventually going to get together. The exact time is when they reunited after the time skip. I've actually had that scene written for two years now. I figured that I could spend the pre time skip part of the story building up to the relationship and the post time skip part of it actually having the relationship. However, before they get to that point Ricky and Nami were still going to have to endure their roller coaster of a relationship.

**Question from J0HNS1LVER: My plans for Ayako**

She and Ollie were going to go with Ricky to break Ace out of Impel Down. But after the war she'd be dubbed a wanted criminal and could no longer return to Alabasta. She joins the Straw Hats after they reunite post Time Skip. I'm disappointed that I never got to fully explore her character. But if you want to take a crack at it, go ahead. Its not like I own the rights to her. If you want to use the Ayako name or anything else I came up with about her feel free.

**Question from SubZPhantomX: Ricky's Post Time Skip Appearance**

Post-Time Skip Ricky would have complete control over his body and mind. To the point where he's mastered Kami-e and walks around in a compact Sketch Form. He stands at 6' 6.6" inches with an extremely defined frame that's almost pure muscles. He wears a pair of rectancular glasses with red lenses to make the Red Eye look more like a normal eye. His hair is still short and he's still clean shaven.

**Question from Auguste the Clown via PM: Where does Kuma send Ricky?**

Kuma sends Ricky back to Alabasta. I did this so I could check in with Vivi and the Baroque Works Agents at the Spider's Cafe. (Mana and Jun got together. She calls him 'Chocolate Bear'.) But mainly so Ricky could get 'Escape Artist' Ayako on board for his attempt to break Ace out of Impel Down. Captain Hina serves as their patsy. Jun and Vivi 'turn in' Red Eye Ricky and Hina takes him to Impel Down while Ollie, Ayako and Ricky's five Kung Fu Dugong's stow away on her ship.

**Question from Auguste the Clown, 'Guest', 'A Reader' and Kjack223: Who is Ricky's father?**

Whitebeard was a red herring. Ricky's biological father is Silvers Rayleigh. While Ricky's mother Mitsune _was_ a nurse on Whitebeard's crew (and was the only one he'd actually listen to) before that she was on Gol D. Roger's crew. During that time she and Rayleigh had a relationship. Mitsune dealt with minor injuries but they brought on Crocus when Roger got really sick. That's why Crocus didn't mess around with Ricky. He recognized him as his former assistant's son. After Roger's execution, Mitsune joined Whitebeard's crew (with all his injuries she felt he needed the most medical help) and stayed on for a few years until World Government's attempts to eradicate Roger's bloodline died out. She stayed with Rayleigh at Sabaody briefly then nine months after Ace was finally born she ended up pregnant herself. She wanted to have her baby in peace so she left for the East Blue and moved in with her sister Makino. Nine months later, Ricky was born. Mitsune died three years later. Rayleigh eventually met Shakki and remarried.

**Question from Nobody and Please Answer: Reactions to Ricky's father?**

The Straw Hats have their usual mixed collection of reactions when Ricky learns that Rayleigh is if father. Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and Brook think its cool. 'No wonder why he's the best First Mate'. Zoro, Sanji and Robin are more or less indifferent. Franky plays it off like he doesn't care. 'That's not so super. You're still a stingy jerk'. Ricky isn't overly concerned. 'That doesn't change who I am now. But that _does_ explain why Whitebeard laughed when Ace and I fought him together back when we first met.' Nami is thrilled but not for the same reason as Luffy and the others. 'You means _that's_ what you're going to look like in forty years? HELL YES! All this damn waiting is gonna pay off!' 'You do realize that I take after my mother, right?' 'Shut up! Don't ruin this for me!'

**Question from Anonymous: Ricky's involvement in the Summit War?**

Ricky and Ollie go ahead of the others and join the Whitebeard Pirates before the war fully gets underway. Ricky leads the former Spade Pirates on a charge through the battlefield. They're eventually stopped by the Warlords until Luffy arrives. Things follow as canon, Luffy and Ricky get Ace free, the three brothers make their escape, Ace dies saving Luffy from Akainu. Akainu punches through Luffy and Jimbei then an angry Ricky sends him flying with a full-power Haki blast from the Eye. Law appears and Ricky gets Luffy and Jimbei to the submarine in time to see the Blackbeard Pirates kill Whitebeard. Law's submarine escapes the battle.

**Question from Anonymous: Ricky's time skip training**

Ricky stays with Luffy and his father on Rusukaina Island. Rayleigh is set to train them both in Haki but Ricky is stunted due to the fact that he still hasn't come to terms with Ace and Whitebeard's death yet since he was focused on making sure Luffy survived since Ace's last request was for Ricky to protect Luffy. Nami hijacks a cloud and pays Ricky a late night visit to check up on him. She helps him come to terms with the war casualties and knows that he's in no condition to get together at this point. Ricky tells her that he'll come back early and if she'll meet him in twenty-three months time... they can get together when they reunite. Nami leaves and Ricky begins the process of completely mastering his mind, body and spirit.

**Question from Guest: Do Ricky and Nami settle down?**

I don't know how One Piece is going to end. But I had plans in the works for a Next Gen fic where Luffy is executed as the Second Pirate King and on his execution claims he "Wants Peace". Ricky and Nami's daughter 'Kit'sune teams up with Luffy's son Monkey D. Ace and Robin's daughter Nico Olvia to form a crew and fight for peace as Warlords, walking the line between pirate and marine. Kitsune trains in swordsmanship by Zoro and would be the One Piece version of Fairy Tail's Erza Scarlet by eating the Armor Armor Fruit which allows her to store various suits of armor inside herself in the form of various tattoos on her body.

**Question from LightPurple96 and Random Fan: Fate of my other OCs?**

Han dies during the Whitebeard War. Ollie completely breaks down after seeing everyone she cares about die. Marguerite looks after her at Ricky's request and patches her up during the time skip and she joins the Kuja Pirates. Devo refuses to be promoted due to his loyalty to Smoker and respect for his morals. His robot arm is upgraded during time skip to shoot 'beams' and lasers. He never made a move with Tashigi so they're still dancing around each other when the Straw Hats see them again at Punk Hazard. Devo and Tashigi are joined by a disgraced 'Black Cage' Hina to become Vice Admiral Smoker and G-5's infamous Three Captains. Hina was humiliated by 'Escape Artist' Ayako again during Impel Down and the Paramount War and ended up being demoted to Commander and lost most of her men (except Jango and Fullbody who love her too much to abandon her). Smoker covers for her like she used to do for him and allows Hina to join his marines. Hina spends the time skip being hypnotized over and over again by Jango until she develops an immunity to hypnotism. Working with Smoker, she's eventually promoted and regains her previous rank of Captain.

**Question from Guest: Ricky-Red Eye reveal/Ricky's future bounties?**

Ricky reveals to the world that he's Red Eye when he openly uses the Eye to keep up with Luffy during Enies Lobby. The World Government reacts by combining all his previous bounties. 20 million + 80 million + 100 million = 200 million post Enies Lobby bounty. Devo is extra disgusted by the revelation that Ricky is a deranged killer. He's extra dedicated to taking down Ricky during the Whitebeard War.

Ricky's post-War bounty goes up to 300 million berries. 'Escape Artist' Ayako's is 50 million and Ollie even manages to get a 75 million berri bounty.

**Question from Guest: Ricky's split personality?**

Ricky's mind first split when he witnessed Sabo's 'death'. The split broke free when he overheard Blackbeard murdering Thatch. During Thriller Bark, Ricky confronts a physical manifestation of his evil personality which takes the form of a 10 year old Sabo with red eyes since 'his death caused my birth'.

**Question from mslmob12 and anielgonzalez: Ricky's reaction to the zombies at Thriller Bark?**

Ricky is terrified of the zombies. But he ends up facing that fear when he tries holding off Ryuma and Absalom so Nami, Usopp and Chopper can escape Hogback's mansion. Nami is ultimately kidnapped by Ricky's zombie so Ricky faces his fear again when he goes off with Sanji to rescue her.

**Question from Fan: Ricky &amp; Jimbei?**

Ricky and Jimbei reunite during Impel Down when Ricky is thrown into Ace and Jimbei cell while Luffy's been poisoned. Ace is eventually taken away which leads to the awkwardness of Ricky and Jimbei being left alone. "I hear you're the one that kill my brother Arlong." "I hear you're the one that didn't do his job of keeping tabs on his pet monster which resulted in me having to clean up your mess." With nothing else to do, Ricky explains how the situation with Arlong went down. "I tried bartering with him but then he bit me. So it ended up becoming a fight to the death. He was hurting someone that means the world to me so I wasn't going to back down. I'm sorry it ended the way it did but he left me no other choice." Eventually, Ricky and Jimbei gain a mutual respect for one another during the War.

**Questions from numerous guest reviewers: Ricky's involvement in future story arcs**

I'm wrote the full spoiler and posted them below in addition to a final scene with Ricky and Nami reuniting Post Time Skip. That should at least give my readers a small sense of closure. Or as much as possible for an incomplete series.

**Question from Guest: Ricky a Marty Sue?**

That certainly didn't stop a great deal of people from enjoying the character and this story over the last five years. I'm not going to apologize for how I wrote him.

**Question from Random Person: am I still taking questions?**

Yes. But I'm waiting to respond to a bunch at a time. I'll respond to one more batch when I come back to post my final scene.

**Question from GoldenLionShiki and Vergil Leonidas: final scene?**

I'm not going to post the chapter that took me a year to write. Mainly because that's the official first chapter of the Water 7 Arc and I'd much rather leave off in between arcs than in the middle of one. Instead, I'll post the scene where Ricky and Nami get together Post Time Skip. That should at least give the readers a sense of closure. The last scene is now posted.

**Question from Askdon'ttell: Does Ricky sacrifice himself for Luffy?**

Yes. At the end of Thriller Bark Ricky tricks Zoro and knocks him out so he can take Luffy's pain. But he doesn't have Zoro's incredible pain threshold so it ends up killing him. He ends up in a white void where he meets the child-like Sabo-shaped manifestation of his evil personality. An angry Bellemere and a helpful Mitsune appear and help Ricky come back.

**Question from Guest: What is Ricky's relationship with Franky and Brook?**

Ricky and Franky become rivals similar to Zoro and Sanji. It starts when Franky steals the money from the Straw Hats which Ricky takes personally. Ricky is annoyed by Franky's boorish personality and blatantly perverted behavior and calls him things along the lines of "Big metal dumbass", "Pantless Pervert" and "Brainless Robot". In return, Franky calls Ricky "Stingy" and that's it. Which actually further annoys Ricky because his rival can't (more like won't) think of any more creative insults.

As for Brook, Ricky is initially terrified of the skeleton due to his fear of zombies. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a chance to interact much with the musician because after sacrificing himself for Luffy he ends up in a coma and only wakes up midway through the Sabaody Arc.

**Question from Guest: How did Han die?**

He was frozen by Aokiji and left there. But was then smashed by Akainu while he was going after Luffy, Ricky and Ace**.**

**Question from Guest: Will Ricky meet Blackbeard again?**

Yes. He confronts Blackbeard during the escape from Impel Down. He catches him off guard using the powers from the Eye and has Blackbeard at his mercy. But makes the mistake of sparing him. "I'm not a murderer anymore." But then Ricky gets to watch from Law's submarine as Blackbeard and his crew murder Whitebeard.

**Question from Guest: Ricky's involvement in New World Arcs?**

Who knows. The New World storylines haven't finished yet so I haven't finished writing Ricky into them yet. There were a couple things I had planned on for each arc like Ricky confronting Shyarly about killing her brother Arlong, Ricky and Robin switching bodies in Punk Hazard and learning use each others 'powers' while Nami keeps kissing the wrong one by mistake, and, of course, Ricky confronting Sabo during Dressrosa (he wasn't as happy as you'd think). But I never got around to fully fleshing those arcs out because I wanted to see how the rest of the storyline played out first.

**Question from Guest: Ricky's reaction to Hancock?**

Ricky isn't blinded by Hancock's beauty since a certain thief stole his heart so he's able to avoid the Mero Mero Beam every time Hancock tries it on him. Ricky is supportive of her pursuit of Luffy. Hancock comes along with Ollie and Marguerite to pick Ricky up from Rusukaina Island a month early. Hancock has a big plate of meat with her and insists that she's going to take Ricky's place on the island. Ricky replies, "Well if you're after Luffy you'd probably have better luck is you're _wearing _that meat."

**Question from Fandom: Ricky's relationship with Sabo and Dadan?**

Dadan actually likes Ricky because he's a competent thief and encourages him to hone his skills as an actual bandit.

Sabo and Ricky were really close which is why Ricky's mind cracked when Sabo died. Ricky was there on the beach when Sabo was 'killed' trying to 'escape'. Ricky dove into the water to rescue Sabo but could only find his top hat. That type of thing can be very traumatic to a nine year old.

**Question from Guest: Ricky's relationship with Garp?**

Garp blames Ricky for corrupting Luffy into wanting to become a pirate. He actually doesn't hit Ricky with his 'Fist of Love' and instead grabs him and throws him across the island "to remove the bad influence".

**Question from Guest: Ricky's Japanese voice actor?**

I don't know Japanese voice actors that well. Let's go with Megumi Ogata - Kurama's voice actor.

**Question from Guest: Ricky's hat?**

No. Ricky never finds a proper hat. It's running gag that he tries different ones but someone inevitably says the new one sucks so Ricky has to continue his search.

Or at least... that _was _the plan. I thought of something fitting and tweaked my final scene a bit.

**Question from Guest: Other fillers?**

I wasn't really planning on doing any other filler arcs.

**Question from Guest: The other bets and final result of the RickyxNami pool?**

Franky bets that they wouldn't get together out of spite because "Stingy's a prick." Brook, the most of his time with Ricky and Nami consisted of Nami sitting at a comatose Ricky's bedside, bets that they'd eventually walk in on the two and catch them together.

The original plan was for Mana and Robin to share the win. Mana's bet being that they'd get together when one of them wins the Swindling War. Robin's bet was that they'd get together when Ricky gains control of his mind.

But when I tweaked my final scene to make it my final post I changed things around a bit and someone else ended up winning. Read the last scene and you'll see.

**Question from Guest: How does Nami win the Swindling War?**

You'll see. That's the last scene I wrote for this story.

**Question from Guest: Ricky and Robin?**

Ricky and Robin never get together. They remain very close, really good friends. She's supportive about Ricky and Nami's relationship but isn't above teasing them.

**Questions from Guest: More info about Kitsune?**

I wasn't able to finish this story and since that Next Gen fic was still just in the planning phase we're just going to have to leave it as an untold story. It's best to put it out of your mind and move on. I'll never have the time to make it happen.

**Question from Guest: What was the incident that caused Ricky and Ollie to become closer that only Ace knows about?**

I had planned to include this as a flashback during the Impel Down Arc to add further development to Ollie's character arc. Back when they were the Spade Pirates the cook Treys enlists Ricky to search for some missing produce. He ventures below deck and finds Ollie 'using' a missing cucumber. Loud shouts and thuds from Ricky tripping as he tries to escape ensue. Ollie throws things which doesn't help matters. To the uninformed observer it sounds like a heated argument. A red-faced Ollie and Ricky attempt to smooth over the embarrassing incident. "You saw NOTHING!" "Right, right... but um... if you don't mind me asking... there are a number of attractive guys on this ship... why are you resorting to stealing produce? Ace has gotten really popular with the ladies ever since he got his powers and started walking around without a shirt on." "Maybe they're not my type. What about you? Have you ever even kissed a girl?" "Yeah but... y'know... no spark." "Spark?" "Yeah, the spark that sets of fireworks in your head and tells you that its the right person." "God, you're a bigger girl than I am. _You _make the spark yourself. Here... watch..." Ollie grabs him and kisses him. When Ricky starts to kiss back Ollie's eyes fly open and she studies his features for a few seconds then suddenly the kiss becomes a full on snog. "Huh... that... wasn't bad." "Still think I'm just a kid?" "You're making a convincing argument otherwise... but I think the matter requires further investigation." They resume their previous activity and Ace of course picks that moment to walk in on them making out. "Um... I'll come back later..." Keep in mind, at this point Ricky's bushy red hair (Kurama style) and big expressive eyes are just like his mother's. Their newfound closeness was a result of them sneaking off together to hide their unofficial not-quite relationship. They never have sex or go far beyond kissing. But the day when Ricky goes off to find the Dark Dark Fruit with Blackbeard, Ollie had planned on convincing Ricky make their status 'official'.

**Question from Guest: How did Luffy and Ricky meet?**

A young Luffy wanders into Makino's Tavern and Ricky takes him under his wing and introduces him to an old pirate that's currently drinking there. Together they manage to convince the old sea dog to tell them about a treasure hunt he went on. After that first story, Luffy is hooked on pirates and spends all his free time in Makino's tavern. He and Ricky become thick as thieves. Ricky had been enthralled with stories of pirates and treasure hunts ever since a man with a strange beard told him about a treasure hunt we went on back when he was three. The man with the strange beard is later revealed to have been Rayleigh following Mitsune's funeral. Anyway, then Shanks showed up and tells stories about the Pirate King Gold Roger and becomes a role model for Luffy and the type of pirate he wants to become.

**-Hopefully that answers most of the important questions. The rest should be answered in my full spoilers below and the scene following it.-**

**-FULL SPOILERS-**

WATER 7 - Ricky's outfit is a red version of Sanji's that Nami can't help but admit makes him look suave and sophisticated much to Sanji's irritation. Ricky manages to get the crew extra money when exchanging the Skypeia treasure. Around the time when Usopp leaves the crew Ricky and Nami completely implode. Ricky reaches his breaking point of how many of Nami's snarky comments and insults that he can take and Nami is furious that he keeps taunting her with something that she can never have. The big fight is further complicated by the fact that Chopper nearly breaks down in tears and tells Ricky that since he can't fix the situation with Nami that he's no longer talking to him. The Straw Hat Doctor then proceeds to 'ignore' Ricky by following him around and a pointedly reminding him "I'm ignoring you". Franky steals money from Usopp, and Ricky indirectly. Ricky takes it personally which sparks a rivalry similar to Sanji and Zoro. Ricky takes great joy in calling Franky 'Cutty Flam', 'Brainless Robot', 'Big Metal Pervert', 'Shameless Cyborg' and others. Franky always responds by calling Ricky 'Stingy' which further serves to irritate Ricky because his rival can't think of anything more creative to insult him with. Ricky manages to find his way to Franky's house and is with him and Usopp when the CP9 agents come for Franky. In his typical pattern of fighting all the villains at once, Ricky manages to take down Blueno and Kaku but ultimately falls to Lucci. Ricky is left for dead while the Agents leave with Franky and Usopp. He eventually reunites with the others and boards the Rocket Man.

ENIES LOBBY – Ricky reveals himself as Red Eye so he can keep up with Luffy as he rushes ahead at Enies Lobby. He stands aside and allows Luffy to demonstrate Gear Second against Blueno. Ricky decides to keep Jyabura occupied to give Zoro and SniperKing one less thing to worry about while they're handcuffed together facing Kaku. He gains some separation from the wolf-man and confronts Nami as she's going off to get the key to the handcuffs from Kalifa. Nami realizes that their fate rests on _her_ winning a fight and that they could all die here so after a montage of all the pro RiNa advice she's received from all the other Straw Hats she decides 'the hell with it' and grabs Ricky and kisses him. "I still love you. I tried to kill those feelings but it just made me miserable. I'd rather have you in my life than not at all. If... if we live I'm willing to wait for you to pull yourself together. Because when I finally get you I want to have all of you." Ricky grins and kisses her. "I tried to let go of my feelings to for you... but I couldn't. You're too deep in my mind and heart. You're... you're my treasure. You're the reason I'm trying to pull my mind together. You're what I'm fighting for. I don't think I'll ever be able to give up on you." "Then I guess we'd better live," Nami resolves. "One more for good luck..." She kisses Ricky one last time then charges into the bathroom with her Perfect ClimaTact sparking with lightning. "ALRIGHT, BITCH, YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" She promptly slips in a puddle of water, slides across the room, and jams her stick into Kalifa's bath while she's still in it. Kalifa is left lying smoking, naked and electrocuted in her bath. "Who takes a bath in the middle of a battle anyway?" Nami quickly deduces that the key she's after is in Kalifa's clothes so the thief grabs them and runs off. Ricky - "That was fast." Nami - "I was properly motivated." She runs off to deliver the key to Zoro and Usopp only for a charred towel-clad Kalifa to come roaring out of the bathroom after her. Monster Chopper then bursts through the wall and showers the bubblefied Sanji with debris. He springs back into action and faces Jyabura, the newly free Zoro fights Kaku one-on-one, Nami finishes off the enraged Kalifa and Ricky is left to calm down the rampaging Chopper which he finally manages to do when he and Nami show the rampaging monster that they made up. When Garp shows up after everything, he grabs Ricky and throws him clear across the island like he used to when he was a kid, still calling him a "red headed bad influence ".

THRILLER BARK – Ricky is initially terrified of Brook. "AAAH! ZOMBIE!" Ricky goes with Nami, Usopp and Chopper. "Wait a minute… you didn't come along to keep us safe! You came along because YOU were scared!" Ricky's Eye allows him to 'see' Absalom and he fights him off (after getting an eyeful of Nami). Ricky confronts his fear of zombies when he holds off Ryuma and Absalom so Nami, Usopp and Chopper can escape Hogback's castle. His shadow is taken and planted in a vampire zombie with a body similar to Absalom's. The main animal characteristics come from a giant vampire bat. But Evil-Ricky leaves along with Ricky's shadow and takes over the zombie body. Now with a body of his own, Evil-Ricky aids Absalom in kidnapping Nami. He knows that Ricky will come for Nami and plans to kill him so he can take the Eye and Ricky's vampire sword. After Absalom is dealt with, Zombie-Ricky attacks Ricky and he finds himself facing a physical manifestation of his evil half. Ricky's evil half goads him into fighting without using the eye "Because you could never beat me without it." Ricky falls for the bait and is soon overwhelmed by Zombie-Ricky's superior animal muscles and bat wings that all him to fly. But then Nami appears still in her wedding dress and strikes Evil-Ricky with a bolt of lightning. "He's using his advantages. I think you should use yours. You've got me. And you always will." With Nami's help, Ricky manages to outsmart and overcome his evil half. After Ricky flashes Nami a sly grin, "You know... since he's over there... my mind's in one piece now. Do mind if I kiss the bride?" A very ruffled Ricky and Nami eventually arrive to aid the other Straw Hats in fighting Oars. Ricky uses the Eye to defeat his brother's zombie while Nightmare Luffy appears and defeats huge-zombie-Moria. Ricky scowls when his shadow returns along with his evil half. Then Kuma shows up and blows everyone away. Ricky tricks Zoro and takes Luffy's pain himself. But he doesn't have Zoro's pain threshold and dies. Nami is devastated. In a Harry Potter-esque afterlife, Ricky finds himself in a white void with his evil persona that resembles a demonic version of young Sabo. "I look like Sabo because I was born when Sabo died." They are eventually greeted by Bellemere who proceeds to beat the ever loving crap out of both of them. "DO YOU ENJOY BREAKING MY DAUGHTER'S HEART?" At some point during the beating Bellemere reveals that Ricky's mother Mitsune was _supposed_ to greet him but lost to Bellemere in strip poker so she came instead. Mitsune eventually does appear wearing only a tan coat that she borrowed from Nico Olvia. Ricky's mother reveals that since his mind was split into two portions he couldn't handle all of Luffy's pain. Their two options are: 1. Put all the pain into his evil half and have that pass on instead of him. 2. Join the broken parts together and suffer through the pain as one. Ricky reasons that even though his evil half is evil it's still a part of him. Sending it off in his place would be taking the easy way out. He's been trying to pull his mind together not split it into pieces. Mitsune comments that Ricky is brave and smart just like his father. Ricky returns to the land of the living and tells Nami "Your mother says 'hi'" before he passes out and goes into a coma.

SABAODY - Nami has spent every waking moment at Ricky's bedside. (Her bed actually.) Robin eventually convinces her to leave the ship for a bit and explore Sabaody with her. But when Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and Franky are left alone on the ship with Ricky... Ollie returns. Ricky's Vivre Card burned up and she rushed off to find him. She manages to revive him using a special herb/flower. Ricky, Zoro and Ollie arrive at the auction house in time for Ricky to temporarily suffocate Saint Charloss and win Camie at the auction house. (Having been informed by Zoro that Camie and Hachi are their friends now.) He pays on the spot and promptly removes her slave collar. Then states "This mermaid is under the protection of 'Red Eye' Ricky'. If any of you bastards lay a hand on her… I'll show you why they used to call me 'the Demon'." Ricky sees Law, Kid and Killer in the auction house but doesn't have a chance to interact with them or any of the other Supernovas. Charloss recovers and shoots Ricky. Luffy punches the Celestial Dragon in the face. Ricky wakes up after the Straw Hats escape the marines. Rayleigh immediately recognizes Ricky as Mitsune's son. Rayleigh reveals that Ricky's mother was actually a nurse on board the Oro Jackson. Her Hippocratic oath makes her feel that even pirates need medical attention. Mitsune spent years on Roger's crew patching up their various injuries. She had only joined Whitebeard for a short time after the Pirate King died. Through the explanation the other Straw Hats notice Ricky and Rayleigh exhibiting similar mannerisms. Eventually it's revealed that Rayleigh is Ricky's father and that he had fallen for Mitsune during the time she spent on the same crew. Ricky plays it off like it's no big deal. "I knew I had a father. But just because you're famous doesn't change that fact that I grew up without one." Rayleigh – "You know… we've actually met before … at your mother's funeral. You looked so much like her… seeing her face again and knowing you were so upset was devastating. Do you remember that pirate who cheered you up by telling you about that treasure hunt?" Ricky squints as he tries to bring up a distant memory from when he was three. "The man with the strange beard... That was you?" "Luffy! My old man is the one that got me into treasure hunting!" "COOL!" Nami smirks, "Thanks for that." Rayleigh continues, "I was in no state to take you. Especially to the Grand Line. So I left you with your aunt. It took me ten years before I was finally able to get over Mitsune. Shakky was there to pick up the pieces of my broken heart. Take some advice from an old man, when you love someone… cherish all the time you have with her. You never know when it might be cut short." Nami, who had been sitting next to Ricky holding has hand slides closer and Ricky puts his arm around her. Then Kizaru, Kuma, Sentoumaru and the PXs show up. Ricky's Kuma injuries act up. Zoro gets sent flying when he tries to protect Ricky. Ricky and Nami try to stay together but are eventually separated and scattered like the others. Ricky is sent back to Alabasta. Ollie rushes off to find him again using the little bit of his burned Vivre Card that she has left.

SEPARATION: Ricky lands in Alabasta and is found by Laslow (Mr. 4) while he's out making a delivery. He brings Ricky back to the Spider's Café where Mana patches him up. She show him around the Spider's Café where all the former Baroque Works Agents are working together for their community service. Jun is visiting from his post in Nanohana and Ricky learns that he and Mana are together now when Mana calls him 'Chocolate Bear'. "You're never going to let me live that down… are you?" "Nope! And I'll be sure to tell the others when I see them." Ricky is sent off to Alubarna to reunite with Vivi and Ayako who have gotten much closer. Vivi informs him of Ace's capture and impending execution. Ayako immediately offers to help him since she wants to break Bentham out of prison. They return to the Spider's Café to find Ollie fighting her way through all the Baroque Works Agents. Ricky calms her down and clears up the misunderstanding. They all devise a plan to get Ricky, Ollie and Ayako to Impel Down. Vivi and Jun turn Ricky in to Captain Hina who serves as their oblivious patsy while Ollie, Ayako and Ricky's Kung Fu Dugong's stowaway on her ship.

IMPEL DOWN: The Dugongs are left outside while Ricky, Ollie and Ayako sneak into the prison using Ayako's new Colors Trap Boring Brown which is the opposite of Bullfight Red and makes everyone that sees it ignore whatever it's on. Ricky's group eventually meets up with Luffy's group. Awkward reunion between Ayako and Galdino. Happy reunion between Ayako and Bentham. They all fight their way downward together. Luffy is eventually poisoned by Magellan. Ricky and Ollie surrender. Ollie is thrown into level five with Luffy but smuggled some of her supplies in and tries to make an antidote for Magellan's venom. Ricky tricks Magellan into putting him in the cell with Ace and Jimbei. "We're here to rescue you!" "Oh… good job." Ayako and Bentham stage a rescue of Luffy and Ollie. Ollie gets injured along with Bentham trying to defend Luffy from the wolves. They eventually meet Inazuma and Ivankov. Bentham and Ollie are healed while Ivankov gives Luffy the healing hormone 'miracle cure'. Bentham and Ayako spend twenty hours cheering Luffy on. Ivankov has a revealing conversation with Ollie stating that she looks lost. "Some big-boobed thief stole the only guy I ever came close to loving. I'm doing all this for him. Risking my neck breaking into a prison, looking after his brother. We could've just joined up with Whitebeard and rescued Ace with them. But Ricky knew his brother would try something like this and insisted on helping him out. So naturally I came along. But it won't make a difference. He's still going to go back to her." Ivankov zeroes in on the 'only guy' bit. He suggests that part of Ollie's problem is that she sees herself as 'one of the guys'-and turns her into a guy. "GAH! I look like my father!" (Oliver Queen - Green Arrow) "TURN ME BACK! I spent YEARS trying to get that senile old man to call me a girl! This is NOT HELPING!" Ollie is turned back and Ivankov suggests that perhaps her lack of romantic success stems from the fact that she's been looking love in the wrong places." Ivankov concludes that Ollie is "confused". Ace is eventually moved and Ricky and Jimbei have an awkward conversation about Ricky killing Arlong. When Luffy wakes up he thanks Bentham and Ayako and invites them to join the Straw Hat Crew. Bentham passes, his dream has always been to train under Ivankov. Ayako doesn't get to answer. Luffy and Co eventually arrive and free Ricky, Jimbei and Crocodile then they all start to fight their way back out of the prison. Luffy, Jimbei and Crocodile take out the Demon Guards. Luffy fights Hannyabal until Blackbeard shows up. Ricky attacks Blackbeard and manages to catch him off guard using the Eye and at one point has Teach at his mercy. "I'm not a murderer anymore." Ricky slashes Blackbeard with his sword which has 'drank' some of Magellan's poison. "You can live if you manage to find a cure." Bentham goes off on his own to get the gate opened but Ayako sees him leaving and follows him. "I broke in here to get _you out_! I won't leave you." Ayako uses Betrayal Black on the guards to get them to open the gate then arrives in time to paint Luffy's wax armor while Ricky, Ollie and the others are off 'acquiring' a ship. Luffy, Ricky, Ollie, Ayako, Bentham, Jimbei, Ivankov, Inazuma, the Okamas, Crocodile, Daz Bones, Galdino, Buggy and Buggy's 'crew' all escape Impel Down together. Ivankov confronts Ricky in transit to Marineford. "You look familiar, boy. I met your mother once. And you when you were just a baby. There's a reason you look _just like her_. She asked me to manipulate your hormones so you wouldn't look like your father. After seeing how dedicated the World Government is to eradicating Gol D. Roger's bloodline… it seems like it was a smart decision." "I guess that's why I could never grow a beard…"

WHITEBEARD WAR: Ricky and Ollie go ahead of the others on the backs of Ricky's Kung Fu Dugongs. "I WAS CRUSHING ON _YOUR MOTHER?" _They arrive and join the Whitebeard Pirates just as the war is about to get underway. Ricky leads the former Spade Pirates in a charge through the battle field until they meet the Warlords. Doflamingo tries to control Ricky with his string but Ricky catches him off guard and sends him flying with the Eye. Moria unleashes some zombies so Deck and the single-digit Spade Pirates stay back to hold them off while Ricky, Han and Ollie continue onward. Han breaks off to face Kuma, Ollie goes arrow-to-arrow with Hancock and Ricky is finally stopped by Mihawk until Luffy finally arrives. Vista eventually relieves them and the two press on and free Ace. Luffy and Ricky free Ace and three of them run for it. Devo is furious at Ricky for being a savage killer and fights him relentlessly using lasers fired by his robot arm. But Ricky eventually manages beat him using his 'Mantra'. Ollie sees Hancock attack Smoker to save Luffy. "Wait… isn't that guy on your side?" "I do what I want. The Government will forgive me because I am beautiful!" Ollie smacks her in the face with her bow. "Maybe… but it takes more than a pretty face to beat me." Ayako and Bentham manage to get the better of Hina, Jango and Fullbody. Han gets frozen by Aokiji then is smashed by Akainu as he goes after Luffy, Ricky and Ace. Ace dies protecting Luffy and asks Ricky to look after their little brother. Akainu punches through Luffy and Jimbei then Ricky steps in to hold him off. "LEAVE MY FAMILY ALONE!" Ricky sends Akainu flying using a full-powered Haki blast from the Eye. Ricky makes it to Law's submarine with Luffy and Jimbei in time to see the Blackbeard Pirates kill Whitebeard. Angry Ricky has to be dragged back into the submarine by Law's crew. "I let him go once… that backfired… I will kill that man if it's the last thing I do!" Shanks shows up and they eventually make their escape.

POST WAR: Ricky has his hands full helping Jimbei calm down a distraught Luffy. Ollie and Ayako reunite with Ricky on Amazon Lily but then Ollie breaks down. "I JUST LOST EVERYONE I'VE EVER CARED ABOUT! I CAN'T LOSE YOU TOO! NOT AGAIN! DON'T LEAVE ME!" Ricky knows he has work to do if he ever hopes to survive in the New World. He leaves Ollie in Marguerite's care and goes off with Luffy and Rayleigh for Haki training. "I might not have been able to raise you... but I can give you the training you need to survive the next part of your journey." Ricky's training is stunted because he never had time to stop and grieve over everyone he's lost during the war. Nami visits late one night and helps Ricky come to terms with things. She spends the night in his futon then heads off early the next morning after they vow to finally get together when they reunite in _twenty-three months_ at Sabaody. Ricky's eye is a Haki Enhancer. Now without his evil half working against him he's able to use it to his full potential like he did against Akainu. Ricky is a Color of Observation Prodigy. He doesn't just see one move ahead he can read an opponent and see their entire fight play out in his mind (like Sherlock Holmes). Ollie, Marguerite and Hancock come to pick up Ricky. Hancock has a huge plate of meat. Ricky suggests that she might have better luck with Luffy if she's _wearing _the meat. Ricky, Ollie and Marguerite leave Hancock behind on Rusukaina with Luffy for a month before Sandersonia and Marigold eventually come to pick up both of them.

**-RINA Reunion-**

Nami breathed a sigh of relief as she finally set foot on Sabaody Archipelago. It had been a long two years. Technically, it was almost two years. She and Ricky had agreed to come back a month early so that they could reunite on their own and _FINALLY_ get together. Nami decided that she wanted to make Ricky wait for once and had come back three weeks early instead.

Now she was back and on a fox hunt. Nami stopped and stared at the sign overhead reading 'Shakky's Rip-Off Bar'.

"_First stop, the future in-laws," _Nami thought to herself as she went inside.

"Nami, you're back," Shakuyaku greeted her from behind the bar. The older woman was smoking a cigarette as usual. Unlike Nami, who was sporting longer hair and a more mature 'curvier' build, Shakky looked exactly the same as she did two years ago.

"Well, well," Silvers Rayleigh remarked as he lowered the newspaper that he'd been reading at the counter, "If it isn't the late night visitor."

"I figured you knew I was there," Nami noted, "But someone needed to check on Ricky. The last time he saw one of his brothers die his mind snapped in two. I had to make sure he was okay."

Nami was once again very appreciative of 'the Dark King's' muscular body. She had the weather scientists wrapped around her little finger in a mere week. They'd become doting grandpas, emphasis on the _grandpa_. It was nice to see an older man who _wasn't _wrinkled and _didn't _look like he was over a hundred. There was also once again the added benefit of looking into the future and seeing what Ricky would (potentially) look like in another forty years.

"Eh-hem," Shakky cleared her throat drawing Nami's attention away from her husband. "I suppose you're looking for Ricky. He mentioned that you had agreed to return a month early."

"Yeah," Nami confirmed, "is he here?"

"Not anymore," Shakky told her, "He stayed with us for a day before Ray kicked him out."

"You kicked your son out?" Nami accused the old man.

"No son of mine is going to be a twenty-year old freeloader living off of his parents," Rayleigh stated firmly. "I kicked him out and told him to get a job. I haven't seen him since."

"Lucky for you," Shakky said, "The girls came by and gave me the address of the hotel they're staying in over at Grove 72." Shakky handed Nami a card, "Their room number's on there too."

"The girls?" Nami repeated.

"Ollie and her funny blonde friend," Shakky explained.

"Ollie's here?" Nami questioned.

"She's the one that picked him up from Rusukaina Island," Rayleigh informed her. "But from the way I hear it… three people arrived at the island and three people left the island. If you do the math you'll come to the conclusion that Luffy probably isn't going to be doing much training for this last month."

The thought of Luffy with a girlfriend disturbed her. The thought of Luffy getting a girlfriend before she managed to claim her long sought after boyfriend disturbed her even more.

"Right, thanks bye!" Nami called out as she dashed out of the bar.

**-x-**

Nami's fox hunt brought her to Grove 72 where Ollie once again stood between her and Ricky. She raised her hand, took a deep breath then knocked on the door to room.

**Knock Knock!**

The door slid opened and Nami briefly saw a pair of slitted yellow eyes inside before suddenly… **HIIIIISSSSS!**

"YAAAAAAHHH!" Nami screamed and lurched backwards as a menacing green viper lunged out through the doorway with its fangs bared.

**THUD!**

Nami hit the opposite wall and covered her face, "OH GOD, DON'T KILL ME!"

"**I told you to see who was at the door… not to scare them to death," **Ollie voice came from the room. Nami lowered her hands in time to see the door pulled open to reveal the somewhat familiar green eyed archer.

"Oh, it's you," Ollie noted when she spotted Nami cowering against the wall. She looked down and smiled fondly at the snake. "Good girl."

**Hssss… **The snake hissed lightly then wrapped around the archer's arm before slithering up and coiling around her shoulders.

Nami studied the other woman with the snake wrapped around her. Like Nami, Ollie had undergone some changes over the last two years. Her previously short blonde hair had been grown out and was now braided into a ponytail that fell to her mid-back. Ollie's chest had remained its modest small size but her other muscles were a lot more defined and included an actual six-pack. The blonde was 'dressed' in a simple green bra and a pair of tight green boxers which showed most of her newly tanned skin. While Nami wasn't exactly one to talk about wearing skimpy clothing since she was in a bikini top and a pair of tight jeans, Ollie had always been a bit more conservative.

"You're late," Ollie's voice cut through Nami's thoughts.

Nami noted Ollie's clenched fists and imagined that the archer wasn't exactly pleased to see her. She knew that if they came to blows the muscular blonde would break her in half. Probably. Nami was reasonably sure she could outrun the archer.

"Wha-what the hell was that!?" Nami exclaimed.

"_She _is my snake Veleno," Ollie answered as she stroked the viper which now that it was coiled around Ollie seemed as docile as a kitten, "I spent the last two years on Amazon Lily. They're pretty good archers there and use trained snakes as bows. Veleno and I bonded and now she's my partner. Her name means 'poison' in an old language. You're lucky she didn't bite you."

"Ricky wouldn't like that!" Nami reminded her, "Speaking of… where is he?"

"What time is it?" Ollie asked.

"What does that matter?" Nami questioned.

"Well… depending on the time he's either at his morning job swindling people as a carney at the amusement park… _or _if its late enough he's moved on to his unofficial job of swindling people at that restaurant."

"It's almost four," Nami told her.

"Then he's at the restaurant," Ollie said.

Nami realized that Ollie was trying to make this difficult, "Okay…_which restaurant_?"

"The same one he bought out the night you were _supposed to _come back," Ollie growled.

"Excuse me?" Nami asked.

"The day you were supposed to come back… he bought out an entire restaurant for the night," Ollie stated, "He said he wanted your reunion to be memorable. He told me not to say anything but I had my fingers crossed and you didn't see how disappointed he was when you stood him up that night… _and _the next night. It wasn't until the fourth night that I managed to convince him to just reserve the one booth and not waste his money."

"If he has so much money why's he working two jobs?" Nami accused him.

"To keep himself occupied," Ollie answered. "He's Ricky. Tricking people out of money is what he does. Originally he was just a carney. But one night at the restaurant he challenged some fatass to an eating contest. Things snowballed from there and now there's usually a line of people that try challenging him. I'm happy for him. He needed something to do while he was waiting for you."

"Don't turn this around on me!" Nami snapped, "He made me wait two years!"

"That's what _he_ said to me," Ollie told her, "'It's okay, Ollie. She had to wait two years for me. I had this coming.'"

"Then quit being a bitch and tell me where he is so I can go fix it!" Nami ordered.

"**Quercia! Don't be mean!" **

The door was pulled further opened and a slim but curvy girl with unruly blonde hair glomped Ollie from behind. Nami watched as Veleno happily rubbed her head against the new blonde's face and idly noted that the new girl's outfit was even skimpier than Ollie's and consisted of a yellow bra and panties set.

"Hi! I'm Marguerite!" the cheerful blonde greeted her. "Are you a friend of Luffy and Ricky's?"

"Something like that," Nami confirmed, "I'm Nami."

"Oooh! So y_ou're _Nami," Marguerite said as a wide smile spread across her face. "I've heard a lot about you. Can I come and watch?"

"Watch what?" Nami asked.

"She's from the Kuja Tribe," Ollie explained. "She's never been off Amazon Lily which is an island of women. The first man she ever met was _Luffy _so you can imagine the kind of standard that he set. She heard about your situation with Ricky and wants to see how a relationship between and man and a woman is formed."

Nami noted how the blonde draped over Ollie seemed to have wandering hands.

"You two seem… close," she noted.

Ollie glared at her. "I was in a really dark place after the war. I saw a lot of my friends die. Marguerite looked after me. She was… a ray of light in my dark world. It's thanks to her that I was able to get through my grief. After that we started training together and joined the Kuja Pirates together. It turns out that hitting my new Captain in the face during the war actually helped me with my audition. It's a welcome change of pace from the two predominantly male crews I was on previously. But before we set sail with our new crew I'm making one of Marguerite's dreams come true by showing her the world outside Amazon Lily."

"We saw so many interesting things!" Marguerite chirped, "Have you seen the amusement park yet? It's full of bubbles and rides and games! Oh! Quercia won a big stuffed bear for me at one of the game stands!"

"Popped thirteen balloons with only ten darts," Ollie boasted.

"Wait… Quercia?" Nami repeated.

"The Kuja Tribe are all named after flowers," Ollie explained, "When I joined them I took on a new name. 'Quercia' means oak which was my old hometown back in the North Blue. And with Veleno at my side we're—"

"Quercia no Veleno… Poison Oak…" Nami cut her off, "I get it."

Ollie looked back at her fellow blonde companion, "Put some clothes on. We're going to take her to visit Ricky."

"Yay!" Marguerite cheered as she danced off.

"You're taking me?" Nami questioned.

"She wants to see what a hetero relationship is like," Ollie stated, "And I know that your friends would never let me live it down if _someone _wasn't there to serve as a proper witness when you two finally got together."

"And I suppose you're not going to tell me where the restaurant is unless I agree to go with you," Nami reasoned. Ollie nodded. Nami sighed, "Fine." She smirked, "Hetero, huh?"

"It's an island of all women," Ollie replied, pointedly calm. "Some of them get curious. It's considered normal there."

"Does 'some' incl—" Nami trailed off when she looked passed Ollie and saw Marguerite bent over going through the drawers in the hotel-provided dresser. "What are you wearing? I've never seen panties like that before."

"Oh, do you like them?" Marguerite asked as she stood up and did a twirl. "Querica and I went… um…_loungerie_ shopping yesterday. The very friendly salesman said it's called a… throng… or something like that. He offered to help me try on a bunch of different ones but then Quercia decided to see how far backwards she could bend his arm before it broke. After that he remembered he needed to be somewhere else."

"In my defense," Ollie stated as she folded her arms across her chest, "The sleezeball didn't actually work there."

"Right," Nami replied, "I guess that explains why two healthy young women are holed up in a hotel room together wearing very little clothing in the middle of the day."

Ollie glared at her again, "She's more comfortable like that," she insisted, "This is basically all they wear back home. But there's no way I'm letting her walk around outside dressed like that. People would start to notice the trail of crippled perverts we'd be leaving in our wake."

"Easy, easy," Nami reassured her, "No need to get defensive. I'm happy for you. I'm glad that you're adjusting well to your life."

"Right… I'm sure you are…" Ollie's agreement didn't seem completely sincere. "Gimme a minute to put some pants on and get her squared away. Then we'll go."

**THUD! **The hotel room door slammed in Nami's face. That had most likely been intentional.

"Well… that probably could have gone worse," Nami reasoned. "I could've called her a lesbian."

**-x-**

They attracted a fair bit of attention as they made their way through Sabaody. Ollie was wearing a belly-baring green crop top and a pair of dark green pants along with a quiver of arrows on her back. Marguerite was wearing a cute but almost indecently short floral print dress (and that was coming from Nami).

Marguerite didn't seem to notice the note that Ollie had slapped on her back which read: 'If you can read this… your life is in danger.' Personally, Nami felt the note was a bit redundant. The viper coiled around the excited blonde seemed capable of conveying that message herself.

"So what'd you get him?" Marguerite asked as she peered into the shopping bag that Nami had asked her to hold.

"It's a surprise," Nami answered. "But _somebody _seems to think I should apologize for standing him up. So I got him something he's been wanting for ages."

"I'm just surprised that you actually paid for something for him," Ollie confessed as she grabbed Marguerite's free hand and pulled her to her side.

"It's a small purchase that's going towards a long-term investment," Nami stated. She pointedly looked down at the blondes' still joined hands and cleared her throat. "Eh-hem."

"The second I let her go… she'll spot something she's never seen before and run off to investigate," Ollie stated, "Then some sketchy pirate will try to take advantage of her and I'll have to put an arrow in his eye. I'm holding her hand so I can keep an eye on her and avoid permanently disfiguring some pervert."

Nami leaned towards Marguerite, "Does she actually expect me to buy that?"

Marguerite smiled, "I prefer to think that Quercia just likes having me close by."

Nami nodded, "_That _I'll believe. Aaand now she's glaring at me again."

"Quercia's a little prickly when you first get to know her," Marguerite admitted, "But once you get passed that she's sweet and loving and will do anything for someone she cares about."

"Loving, huh?" Nami questioned with a teasing glance towards Ollie who went red. "I guess I'll take your word for that. I doubt I'll ever get to know her as well as you do."

"We're here…" a still blushing Ollie announced.

Nami took a moment to eye the restaurant. It could have once been called a fancy establishment but the seedy crowd of pirates outside dashed that image. "Doesn't look like much…"

"It looked a lot better before the posers showed up," Ollie informed her.

"Who?" Nami questioned as she followed them inside. She stopped in her tracks when she spotted the group of 'familiar' pirates that were seated a large table in the middle of the room. There was a large fat man wearing a tattered straw farmer's hat, a chubby green haired man with a beer gut and three swords, an old lady with a round face, pot belly and orange hair, a skinny blond man in a suit with his blond hair in a frizzy afro, a fox with a pink hat, and a small older woman with dark hair in a short bob cut. "Oh…"

"**Hello ladies… would you care to join the Straw Hat Pirates for a drink?"**

Nami's eyes widened as she surveyed the tall red-haired man standing in front of them. There were nearly a dozen different reasons that immediately jumped out at her and told her that this wasn't _her _Ricky. His hair stood up in spikes like Ricky's did when he used the Eye but it had clearly been styled that way. Also it wasn't even the right shade of red. It had hint of brown in it that almost made it appear auburn. His eyes didn't have Ricky's usual fox-like slant and his normal eye was just black not big expressive hazel. The marks around his 'red' eye had clearly been drawn on and the eye itself was normal black while the only red from some kind of irritation. Maybe eye drops? The man had notably high cheek bones and his chin wasn't pointed like Ricky's. Instead, he had a cleft in his chin and a visible five o' clock shadow that told Nami that unlike Ricky this guy had to shave daily. Finally, his voice was way too deep to be Ricky's. A skilled listener would notice that he sounded vaguely like Jimbei.

"I told you last time that I'm not into redheads anymore," Ollie stated as she guided Marguerite passed the imitation Ricky.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Nami couldn't help blurting out when the man turned his attention to her.

"I'm 'Red Eye' Ricky," the man boasted, "The former, Spade Pirate, Whitebeard Pirate and also known as 'the Demon' Red Eye. Now I'm First Mate of the Straw Hat Pirates with an impressive bounty of three hundred million berries."

"Wait… Red Eye… the notorious murderer?" Nami questioned.

"That's me," the man replied with a cocky smirk. WRONG AGAIN! Ricky was subtle, hated that he was Red Eye and he never smirked he had a signature sly grin.

Maybe someone who had never met Ricky would've bought the display. But Nami had spent the last two years thinking about the real version.

"Sorry, not interested," Nami bluntly stated. "I'm meeting my boyfriend here."

"Boyfriend?" fake Ricky sputtered, "How could your guy have anything on me?"

"Well, for one," Nami said, "He's not an out-of-control killer." _"At least not anymore." _"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm late."

Nami slipped passed the man and casually counted the money she'd swiped out of his pocket as she walked up to Ollie and Marguerite. "Only eight million berries… like the real Ricky would carry around anything less than a hundred. Why does he put up with that piss poor imitation?"

"He thinks they're funny," Ollie answered. She turned and pointed to a line of five men that was leading to a booth in the back corner. "The real one's over there. I'll let him know you're here."

"**He already knows."**

Nami blinked and turned around to see a girl behind her. The girl's head and the magenta beret she wore on it came up to Nami's chin. She had a small mouse-like face, reddish-brown auburn hair with a streak of pink going through it. The girl wore a magenta sleeveless vest that matched her beret and a long dress with a rainbow wrapping around her and spiraling up it.

"Ayako?" Nami blurted out.

"Nami!" the artist greeted her and grabbed her in a hug. The other girl's shorter stature meant that her face was planted right in Nami's chest. Nami probably just imagined her rubbing her face back and forth in her chest.

"I… what are you doing here?" Nami questioned when the girl finally found her way out of her cleavage.

"I live here," Ayako answered. "Not _here_ but in Sabaody. I work over at the amusement park but I'm on my lunch break now. C'mon… you probably wanna get on this line." Ayako grabbed Nami's hand and led her to the end of the line to Ricky's booth but they were stopped by a large man in a SniperKing mask and a skinny man with blue hair in an aloha shirt.

"You here to swindle Sabo?" the fake SniperKing mask asked.

"Sabo?" Nami repeated.

"Yeah," Ayako confirmed then turned to explain to Nami. "Their Captain is offering a thirty million berri reward for anyone that can beat him."

"You're welcome to try," the Franky impersonator stated, "But the only one who has been able to win any money from him in the last three days is our First Mate Ricky."

"Don't worry, she's a ringer," Ayako assured them.

The two imposter Straw Hats nodded and stepped aside, allowing them to take their place at the end of the line. Marguerite led Ollie passed the men a moment later. "I still want to watch."

"This line won't take long," Ayako said, "He'll blow through these guys now that he knows you're here."

"How does he know?" Nami asked.

"He's really good with his Observation Haki," Ayako told her. "Sometimes he calls it Mantra. This whole scam is just so he can test it on other people. I bet he sensed you the second you came within twenty feet of this place."

"And how do you know all this?" Nami inquired.

"Ricky told me," Ayako answered simply. "We work together. I helped him get his job at the amusement park. He scams people at the game stands. Two days ago he managed to trick one of the World Nobles into freeing one of his slaves."

"Oh… good to know he's still using his swindling for good," Nami reasoned.

"He started off doing the same thing here," Ayako told her. "He challenged Luffy over there to an eating contest. He said that Straw Hat Luffy was infamous for his appetite and if that guy could out eat the chef here… he'd pay for everything those Straw Hats bought. That fake got sick after the fifth dish and threw up. Then he came back the next day and set his crew on him. Ricky beat their Zoro in a drinking contest, made better riceballs than their Sanji, beat their Nami at cards, their SniperKing at darts and their Franky at arm wrestling. And he taught their Chopper a trick before their Robin could. That one was probably a fox thing."

"No wonder he thinks they're funny," Nami remarked.

"The Luffy poser is still paying for anything that Ricky or any of us eat here," Ollie chimed in. "But Ricky agreed to let the debt go if Luffy could find someone that could beat him at a game of chance. Thus the thirty million berri reward, thus the line and thus why we're still getting free drinks every time we come here."

"Then why am I on this line?" Nami asked. "Couldn't we milk this for another three weeks?"

"Now that you're here Ricky won't have to come here every day to wait for you," Ollie growled.

"Do you know how you're going to beat him?" Marguerite questioned. "Ricky's tricky."

"I think of something," Nami said as she fished into her pocket and felt her lucky coin. She turned back to Ayako. "So, you covered Ricky, what are you doing here?"

"I… after the war I got a bounty put on my head," Ayako explained, "Fifty million berries. I can't go home anymore. Vivi already covered for me once… I can't bring that sort of attention on her."

"You were living with Vivi?" Nami asked.

"I was her personal assistant for a while," Ayako replied. "The war took a major toll on her father. He seemed to age twenty years in a week and got really sick. Vivi ended up taking on a bunch of his responsibilities. She was under a lot of stress and I did _anything I could_ to make things less stressful. But… having a wanted criminal on her staff would cause her _even more _stress. So I set up camp here and got my job at the park. I was hoping…"

"Yes?" Nami prodded when she trailed off.

"Um… well…" the mousy artist said, "During our break in at Impel Down… Luffy got poisoned by the Warden. It was bad enough that Ricky and Ollie both surrendered. Benny and I tried to stage a rescue…"

"Benny?" Nami repeated.

"Mr. 2," Ayako quickly clarified. "We ended up discovering Newkama Land on the secret level of the prison. The Okama Queen cured Luffy but the process was really long and really painful. Benny and I spent hours cheering Luffy on and encouraging him to fight through it… That was the loudest I've ever shouted. I tried to get him to think of you guys and his brother that we were all there to rescue. When he recovered… Luffy invited both of us to join your crew. Benny passed… his dream was always to meet the Okama Queen and to train under him. I never got to answer but um… there are still loads of things that I want to see… my new dream is to paint a masterpiece after seeing the entire world. But I can't leave this place on my own… so I was hoping to take Luffy up on his offer… if that's okay…"

"Aw, of course you can!" Nami called out as she pulled the girl into another hug. This time the artist _didn't _rub her face in her boobs. "So what have you been doing at the amusement park?"

"Well… I'm an artist," Ayako replied. "I draw. I paint faces… mostly for kids and draw portraits and caricatures of people."

"What's a caricature?" Nami

"A cartoon with exaggerated features," Ayako answered, "Here, look… I'll do one of you…" She pulled a pad and pencil out of the pink satchel on her back. **Sksh-shish-sskssh… **Ayako's pencil flew across the paper and less than a minute later she turned the pad around to reveal an extremely cat-like Nami. She drawing of her even had its hand/paw raised in a 'Nya' position. "I've also drawn couples together…" **Sksh-skshh-skkiiisshh… **Nami smiled when Ayako turned the pad around to reveal a fox-like Ricky holding the cat-like Nami from behind.

"Hehehehe… aaaw, that's cute," Nami remarked with a giggle.

"I've done a few sketches of those two too," Ayako added as she slipped the page to reveal a portrait of Ollie and Marguerite. Ollie was sitting with Marguerite across her lap and the other blonde kissing her on the cheek.

"HEY! YOU LITTLE!" Ollie exclaimed as she reached out and tore the page out of the pad.

But that only revealed a second sketch on the next place which showed that Marguerite straddling Ollie's lap and kissing her on the lips.

"Damn your photographic memory!" Ollie snarled as she ripped out the second page.

But like a flipbook it only continued with a sketch of Marguerite starting to remove Ollie's top.

"Alright, enough," Nami snapped as she snatched the artist's pencil and pad away. "You didn't have to out her like that. I figured it out myself."

Nami handed the pad and pencil off to Ollie who flashed Nami a quick look of gratitude before she grabbed Marguerite's hand and stalked off.

"But I still want to watch!" Marguerite protested as she was pulled away.

"I thought you two didn't get along?" Ayako questioned once Ollie and Marguerite were gone.

"We don't," Nami admitted, "But she's clearly still coming to terms with it. And Marguerite still has my present for Ricky."

"She's lucky," Ayako said. "_She_ spent two years in a place where it's accepted."

Nami raised an eyebrow and looked over at the artist. The younger girl didn't look away. "Anything I could," she repeated.

"I guess that's not exactly something you can be public about," Nami reasoned. "But here you are wearing a rainbow dress."

Ayako nodded, "You should've seen some of the girls on Amazon Lily. They run around in barely any clothing and their leader Boa Hancock has boobs that are almost bigger than my head. Her younger sisters are bigger than her and _they've _got boobs that are nearly bigger than my whole body."

"I see you've filled out a bit," Nami noted as she glanced down at the pronounced swell in the front of the artist's magenta vest.

"I know, I blossomed," Ayako chirped. "They're Ds, wanna feel?" Suddenly Nami's hands were on the younger girl's chest.

"Right… I can see that," Nami said as she yanked her hands away. "Listen, I may have practiced kissing with my sister when I was younger but I'm on this line to bag a guy."

"Right, of course," Ayako replied. "You're next by the way. Do you know what you're doing?"

"Yeah but I'm going to need you to cause a distraction," Nami instructed.

"You want me to distract Ricky?" Ayako questioned warily.

"No, I'll handle Ricky," Nami reassured her. "I need you to distract everybody else."

"Oh, no problem," Ayako agreed. "I've been working on my Colors Traps these last two years. I've had loads of sketchy pirates to test them out on. My Bullfight Red's gotten really strong."

"Good," Nami said. "Sit nearby and I'll wink at you when I need you to go."

Ayako nodded and went over to an empty table across from the booth. A large muscular man that had been sitting in it stood up and stomped off.

"**Next…" **came a familiar voice that sent a shiver down Nami's spine.

Nami smiled as she slipped into the booth.

He was wearing a red and white vertically striped bucket hat that hid the top half of his face but really didn't fit him. The sly grin on the bottom half of his face that morphed in a wide smile was all that Nami needed to know that she was now dealing with the genuine article and not a half-assed knock off.

"Wow… you look great," Ricky remarked as he sat back and looked her over.

"Well… you know everything grows bigger on Sky Islands," Nami proudly replied as she puffed out her chest. She took a moment to eye Ricky.

He wore rectangular glasses with red lenses that did a halfway decent job of disguising the Eye and an open silver dress shirt. Nami's eyes scanned his bare chest. Ricky had been muscular before but now his muscles looked like they had been carved out of stone. Nami licked her lips then took a quick peak under the table, he was wearing loose black pants, black boots and a red sash around his waist. She also spotted the sack of treasure he had on the seat next to him. The money was obviously Ricky's winnings from his various bets for the day. It reminded her of why she was here.

"So… uh… you're Sabo now?" Nami recalled.

"That guy over there claims he's 'Red Eye' Ricky," Ricky replied. "The truth will reveal itself eventually but for now I needed new name. I didn't think Sabo would mind me borrowing his."

"And what's this about that loser winning money from you?" Nami inquired.

"Oh, thanks for reminding me," Ricky said before he turned across the room. "Hey! Ricky! She came! You owe me sixteen million berries."

"Son of a bitch…" the imposter growled.

"Two days ago when Luffy over there set his crew on me he bet met that the girl I was waiting for wouldn't show," Ricky explained. "I figured you'd show up eventually so over the next two days I offered him double or nothing that you'd show up. His Captain's still steamed about me swindling the rest of his crew so he forced the guy to agree. Now he's gotta give me back the eight million I paid him and another eight million of his own."

"Oh… you mean _this_ eight million?" Nami asked as she held up the money she'd stolen from the imposer. "You should've let me in on the scam. I could've come back a few days later in a wig and you could've won loads more."

"Nah, I think we've both waited long enough," Ricky replied as he flashed her a fond smile.

"But first things first," Nami reminded him, "We have a score to settle. How's this Swindle Sabo thing work?"

Ricky's sly grin reappeared as he recited the rules, "You name your game and your bet then if I accept your challenge you _lose_ _your game_ and you pay up."

"I didn't come here to lose," Nami retorted. She pulled out her lucky coin. "A simple coin toss. Two out of three wins. I win and I get however much is in that bag of yours. I didn't bring much money … but if you win then you can have…" Nami glanced down and smirked, "My top."

Ricky's eyes widened in surprise then he reached out and took the coin. He checked it to make sure it wasn't double sided then nodded. "Deal. But I get to flip it."

"Then I call it," Nami quickly agreed, "Heads for me, tails for you."

Ricky raised an eyebrow then flipped the coin up overhead. It flipped nearly a dozen times before it came back down and landed on the table.

**Clink! **Heads.

"Weighted coin?" Ricky guessed.

Nami nodded. "That baby won me anything I wanted up on Weatheria."

"So the trick is making sure you call heads," Ricky noted. "Or… find a way to cheat." Ricky flipped the coin and again it flipped nearly a dozen times before it started its decent. Nami saw a faint glint of red through Ricky's glasses as her coin fell.

**Clink! **Tails.

"You've gotten good with that thing," Nami observed, "You uh… fully in control now?"

"Now that I've pulled my mind together there's no problem," Ricky explained. "The Eye is just a Haki Enhancer. Haki is a spiritual energy that Luffy and I learned how to access and use over the last two years. With the Eye, I can send out blasts of my Color of Armament Haki. I can do delicate work like flipping a coin or I can send someone flying across the room."

"The way I hear it… you've got another type of Haki that you're good at," Nami noted.

"I'm something of a prodigy with Color of Observation Haki," Ricky told her. "Using the Eye I can not only predict what someone's going to do… but I can predict the next _three things_ they're going to do. Eneru and Aisa may have been able to use their Mantra in a widespread area and predict what their opponent is going to do next but I've honed mine to the point where I can watch a fight play out in its entirety. I know every scam that every swindler that ever sat in your seat was planning to pull the second they sat down."

"So… you know what _I'm _planning to do?" Nami questioned.

"You plan to signal Ayako to cause a distraction," Ricky stated. "And then you plan on distracting _me _so I can't influence how the coin lands."

"Then if you know what I've got in mind…" Nami said, "The question _you've _got to ask yourself is… do you _want to_ be distracted?"

Ricky raised an eyebrow again then flipped the coin. Nami quickly turned and winked at Ayako. The artist already had her red-coated paint brush out and sent out a red symbol.

Nami turned back to Ricky as the coin was coming down, grabbed her bikini top and pulled it up. Even though he knew it was coming, Ricky's eyes still went wide when she flashed him. She hit him with both barrels and he completely forgot about the coin.

**Clink! **Heads.

"Gotcha!" Nami crowed as she fixed her top. The score in their Swindling War had been settled.

Nami – 3, Ricky – 2

"Two years later and you're still keeping me on my toes," Ricky remarked with a fond smile. He slid out of the booth and stood up. Nami's finally noticed how tall he'd gotten. She'd had a growth spurt of the last two years but right had grown over a half a foot and now nearly a full foot taller than her. Ricky called attention to himself as Ayako dragged her foot through the red Colors Trap symbol she'd painted on the floor. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner. This young lady…" Ricky motioned to Nami. It took her a second to realize that she was supposed to give a fake name.

"Oh… um… Nojiko," Nami stated.

"Nojiko has beaten me in a game of her choice," Ricky continued, "All good things must come to an end. So, as agreed, I now consider Straw Hat Luffy's debt paid in full and will be taking my leave from this establishment once Red Eye pays me my final winnings."

The reluctant fake Ricky gave the real Ricky the sixteen million berries from their bet. Ricky gave a jaunty bow then slipped out of the restaurant through the back door.

"So… I think someone owes me thirty million berries," Nami announced as she collected the money that Ricky had left behind in the booth.

"Wait… she's his girlfriend," fake Ricky protested.

"SniperKing and Franky still let me on the line," Nami pointed out, "And I believe the deal was that anyone who could beat him would get thirty million berries. I did so pay up."

The imposter Luffy eventually handed over Nami's reward. She quickly declined the offer to join his crew and then she left the restaurant through the same door that Ricky had gone through. She found him standing out back waiting for her.

"I think that went well," Ricky remarked. "All together we came away with nearly a hundred million berries."

Nami nodded then tossed her winnings aside and charged him as she swung her fist at him. For a moment he tensed like he was going to dodge the blow but then he shook his head and remained rooted in place.

**POW! **Nami slugged Ricky in the face. His glasses went flying off and he lurched backwards. Nami threw herself at him and tackled him to the ground. **WHOMP!**

"TWO YEARS!" Nami yelled down at the prone pirate under her. "I WAITED TWO YEARS! You _know _that wasn't what I had in mind when I told you I'd wait for you to sort yourself out back at Enies Lobby! And then your little friend tries to turn it around and blame _me _because I decided to take my time getting her and make _you wait _for once! I have half a mind _not to _start this relationship! Maybe then you'd have to chase after me for a while."

"If that's what you want to do… then I'll agree to it," Ricky replied. He rolled them over and quickly scrambled to his feet. "You've been more patient than I ever could have asked you to be. But it's like I told you when you came to visit me on Rusukaina… my mind is in one piece now. I have full control over my mind, body and spirit. I thought about you every day when we were apart. I love you and I'm ready and willing to start this relationship. However, should you decide that I need to wait for you … I'll understand. But you should know, the only thing that would be keeping us from finally pursuing a relationship like we both really want… will be you."

"I think I showed in there that you can't keep me from getting _anything_ that I want anymore," Nami reminded him as stood back up and immediately stepped into his personal space.

"You do realize that I let you do that, right?" Ricky asked.

"Even so, that doesn't change the fact that _you lost _and _I won_," Nami insisted, "Now I can claim my _real prize_." Nami threw herself at him and enjoyed the sensation of his hard muscular body against her softer one as his arms wrapped around her. Nami's hand flew up and knocked off his bucket hat before she sealed her lips to his for a searing kiss. Ricky eagerly returned it and the two were instantly all over each other. The kiss was hungry, passionate and demanding as the two of them attempted to make up for two years of lost time.

"MmHm!" Nami let out a moan as Ricky introduced his tongue. But she quickly grabbed his shoulders then jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist before she deployed her own to counter. She felt his hands on her ass simultaneously fondling her and holding her up as he staggered backwards and slumped against the back wall of the restaurant.

They finally broke apart when they were starting to get light headed from oxygen depletion.

"I… love you," Ricky gasped.

"Love you… more," Nami retorted.

And then they were at it again. Kissing like there was no tomorrow with toe curling intensity. Ricky dropped to his knees then slowly leaned forward as he laid Nami on the ground. "HNN!" Nami growled into his mouth as she yanked him down on top of her. No skinny wrinkly old man here! This was the brilliant, muscular, hard-bodied pirate that she'd fallen in love with and had been dreaming of and waiting all this time for.

"NGH!" Nami grunted as she got tired of being flattened and rolled them over so she was on top. Her first act in the new position was to slide her hands up and run her fingers through is short red hair. He'd kept it short but she still enjoyed the feel of this thick red locks as they slipped through her fingers."MmMhhh!" Nami let out a contented mewl as she started to grind against him.

They broke apart again when the lack of air once again became a factor. But that didn't stop Nami from planting a quick kiss on his cheek, then his jaw, then his chin before she finally latched her mouth on his neck.

"Uuugh!" Ricky groaned as she sucked on his neck. Nami smirked when she finally pulled away and saw the dark ring that she'd left behind.

"See that?" Nami asked. "That means you're mine now. My boyfriend. MINE!"

"Got it," Ricky replied, "But only on one condition… if I'm yours… then you're mine."

"Deal," Nami agreed then she leaned in and kissed him again.

"**Aaaawwww!"**

"**Seriously… are you guys **_**actually **_**going to have sex **_**right here**_**?"**

"**OOH! Can we watch that too?"**

Nami let out a low hiss as she pushed herself up so she was sitting on Ricky's crotch then planted her hands on his hard eight-pack abs before she turned and looked back over her shoulder at Ayako, Ollie and Marguerite sitting on the edge of the restaurant roof.

"Enjoy the show?" she growled.

"I told you we needed to serve as witnesses," Ollie stated.

"ARE YOU _TAKING NOTES_?" Nami demanded when she saw the other blonde scribbling away on the note pad that she'd taken from Ayako.

"Uh-huh!" the oblivious blonde confirmed, "Wait until the girls back home hear about this! Here, I'll read it to you. Eh-hem… 'How to Form a Relationship with a Man' by Marguerite. 'The first step to forming a relationship with a male is to beat the man in a game of skill and chance. Victory can be achieved against even the most focused male by removing clothing. After taking all the man's money, the woman and man face off in a round of combat where the woman must beat the male into submission."

"…" Ricky, Nami, Ayako and Ollie went wide eyed at the Kuji Pirate's interpretation of the events that had just transpired.

"'A wily man will attempt to fight back and beg off by saying sweet and romantic things,'" Marguerite continued, "'It is at this point that the woman deploys her most devastating technique and seals her lips to the male's and proceeds to suck out his soul. Once the man has stopped resisting the woman brands him using her mouth. From here on, the male is now the woman's property and is referred to as 'her boyfriend'.'" Marguerite finally looked up from her notes and looked pleased with herself.

"…" the other four continued to stare in wide-eyed shock.

"What? Did I get something wrong?" Marguerite asked.

"I… um… sweetie…" Ayako was the first to speak up, "Don't play dumb. We all know that you know what a kiss is."

"_That _was a kiss?" Marguerite questioned. "It looked like they were trying to swallow each other at one point!"

"Sounds like Quercia needs to work on her technique," Nami remarked.

"THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY TECHNIQUE!" Ollie snapped at her. "Who do you think taught _him _that?"

Nami turned back to Ricky and raised an eyebrow. Ricky nodded. Nami took a deep breath, sighed then shrugged. "Oh well. Mine now." She stood up and helped him back to his feet. "Got that? You're mine and I'm never letting you go. Ever."

"Never, huh?" Ricky repeated.

"Damn right!" Nami retorted, "I've seen what you'll look like in forty years. And after waiting for so long you'd better believe that I'm in this for the long haul."

"Well… in that case…" Ricky said as he slipped one hand into his pocket and took hold of her hand with his other. "I've got something that I want to ask you." He stepped back and dropped down on one knee.

"Oh MY GOD!" Nami squealed as she covered her mouth with her free hand and watched as he pulled small black box out of his pocket.

"Oh my God…" Ollie dead-panned.

"Oh my God!" Ayako squeaked.

"Wait… what?" Marguerite asked before Ollie quickly whispered in her ear. "OH MY GOD!"

"Dating is so that a couple can get to know each other better," Ricky stated, "You and I were _living together_ on the same ship for months. It wasn't always been easy but I'd like to think that you and I know a great deal about each other now. I love you and the fact that you waited for me for two years proves that you feel the same way. This ring… is a symbol that represents that love and my commitment to spend the rest of my life making sure that your time waiting was worth it. I once promised my brothers that if I ever met a girl that could swindle me… I'd marry her. Nami… you're that girl. You're my treasure. Will you marry me?"

Ricky flipped the box open to reveal a ring with a white gold band that was encrusted with an intricate wave-like pattern of small sapphire and diamond fragments and a carefully crafted diamond that was carved into a swirl pattern with four arms that made it look like a pinwheel.

"I… you…" Nami stammered in shock. Well… she did say that she was in this for the long haul. "YES!" Nami threw herself at him. He stood up and caught her then swung her around him before finally setting her down in front of him. She watched eagerly as he took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto her finger.

"I'm not going to rush this since we're about to embark on a huge journey," Ricky told her, "_But… _when I find the One Piece… I'll be sure to use part of it to make your wedding ring."

Nami grabbed the sides of Ricky's face yanked him down to her level and furiously kissed him. She had her eyes closed so she didn't notice Ricky's red eye glowing as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her fully against him. The Eye fed off of Ricky's feelings of love and utter bless and shot out an invisible wave in the form of enhanced Color of Conqueror Haki.

Ayako, Ollie and Marguerite might not have seen the wave but they certainly felt it when it washed passed them.

"EEP!" Ayako squeaked and crossed her legs. A blue haired princess flashed across her mind.

Ollie and Marguerite shared a quick look then scrambled to their feet and ran off together. Ayako was left as the lone spectator when Ricky and Nami finally broke apart.

"So… I think it's about time you took me shopping," Nami announced.

"Saw that coming," Ricky remarked.

"Yeah, well we're heading to the New World," Nami reminded him. "We need to stock up on supplies." Then she smirked on him. "Although… Marguerite told me about this new kind of underwear they're selling here… if you're good maybe I'll let you help me pick some out."

"Sold!" Ricky quickly agreed. He scooped up his glasses then went to grab his bucket hat so he could quickly replace his 'disguise'. But Nami stepped in front of him and stomped on his bucket hat. "I take it you don't like my new hat?"

"It's all wrong," Nami insisted. "The style doesn't fit you at all and the coloring doesn't go with your outfit."

Ricky sighed as he surveyed the crushed hat, "And so the search continues."

"Not quite," Nami replied with a smirk she turned and called up to Ayako. "Did Marguerite leave a shopping bag there?"

"It's here," the artist confirmed then lobbed the bag down to Nami.

Nami fished into the bag and pulled out a black sable fedora with a wide brim and a dark red band going around the base. **(An alternately colored Indiana Jones hat)** Nami smiled as she stood on her toes and placed the hat on his head.

"_That's _a proper hat for a treasure hunter," Nami proclaimed. The coloring of the hat went with his black pants and dark red sash and it just screamed 'adventure'.

Ricky flashed her a wide smile, "You know what? The shopping trip can wait." He fished into his silver dress shirt and pulled a roll of worn paper out from a hidden pocket. "I won _this _at the restaurant. The treasure's not too far away and we've got some time to kill. What do you say you and I go on a treasure hunt?"

"_That's _your idea of a first date?" Nami questioned.

"'Red Eye' Ricky... Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire," Ricky stated as he took another jaunty bow, "Accept no substitutes."

**KA-CHING! **Nami's eyes became berri signs. But she wasn't looking at the map. She was staring at her new fiance. "Jackpot."

The two quickly gathered up the money they'd won in the restaurant then the two of them joined hands and ran off together.

Ayako sighed to herself as she sat alone on the roof top. "I guess I'd better get back to work and tell them Ricky won't be in tomorrow." But then she froze at a sudden thought. "Wait… does this mean that _Luffy_ won the pool?"

**-Shakky's Rip-Off Bar-**

"Hm…" Rayleigh looked upward as he sense the Haki Wave fly up into the sky and split into eight distinct parts that flew off towards eight distinct pirates. "It seems like she found him."

"You know what this means, don't you?" Shakky asked as she leaned over the counter.

"What?" Rayleigh asked.

Shakky grinned, "Grandchildren."

**-Rusukaina Island-**

A wide grin stretched across Luffy's face as the invisible wave washed over him.

"Something wonderful just happened," Luffy announced.

"Oh, did you like the meat?" Hancock asked as she laid nearby stark naked after Luffy ate the meat 'costume' she'd been wearing on Ricky's recommendation.

"Yeah, that meat tasted great," Luffy replied. "Thanks Hancock!"

"_OH! LUFFY LIKES HOW I TASTED!" _"Well…" the blushing Snake Empress replied as she spread her legs, "There's more where that came from…"

"Huh? I'm not gonna eat you! I'm not a cannibal!"

Hancock face-faulted and lamented over yet another failed attempt at ensnaring the thick-headed rubber pirate's affections.

**-Kuraigana Island-**

In Mihawk's castle, Zoro went stiff as he felt the wave pass over him.

"Something horrible just happened…" the swordsman realized.

"Huh? What's going on?" Perona asked as she floated over.

"Ricky and Nami finally hooked up," Zoro stated.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Perona questioned.

"NO!" Zoro snapped, "She'll have Ricky wrapped around her finger in no time! That means she'll have full control over _all _our money! I'll never be able to buy booze again!"

**-Momoiro Island-**

"GET AWAY, YOU FREAKS!" Sanji shouted as he ran from the Okamas.

But then Ricky's Haki Wave washed over him.

"Something horrible just happened." For the first time in two years Sanji stopped running.

"OOH! SANJI-BOY! FINALLY GIVING UP?" an Okama called out as they drew close.

"**DAMN YOU RICKY! SOOOO ANGRY!" FWOOOOSH! **Flames of rage erupted all over Sanji's body as he turned to glare at his pursuers. "Luckily… I've got _volunteers_ to take that anger out on…"

"GAH! SANJI-BOY'S GONE CRAZY!" an Okama screamed.

For the first time in two years, the _Okamas _started running from _Sanji_.

**-Boin Archipelago-**

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Usopp stood up and laughed as he felt the wave wash over him.

"What's so funny Usopp'n?" Heracles asked.

"Something wonderful just happened!" Usopp exclaimed. "My friends that have spent ages dancing around each other finally got together!" The sniper smiled as he fished a black book out of his arsenal bag. "I wonder who won the pool. BOOKIE USOPP IS ON THE CASE!"

**-Karakuri Island-**

In Dr. Vegapunk's Lab, Franky froze when he felt the wave wash over him.

"Something… just happened," the shipwright stated.

"Is it good or bad?" Kitton asked.

"Don't know," Franky admitted, "Stingy finally hooked up with that loud girl of his."

"That sounds like a good thing," Kitton pointed out.

"Maybe…" Franky said, "If he's getting laid now and then he might be _less_ stingy." Franky cocked his head to the side. "But on the other hand… he'll probably be so happy that it'll make me sick just to be around him." The shipwright nodded. "Something horrible just happened." The cyborg looked up and bellowed at the sky, "OI! SCREW YOU, STINGY!"

**-Sandy Island-**

"THANK YOU ALABASTA!" Soul King shouted as he finished yet another concert of his world tour.

"EN-CORE! EN-CORE! EN-CORE!" the cheering crowd shouted at the rock star.

The skeleton went stiff when he felt Ricky's wave wash over him. "Yohohoho! Something wonderful just happened!" He turned to address his adoring crowd, "You want an encore? How 'bout a brand new song that I just came up with? It's a love balled inspired by two of my friends. I call it… RINA!"

The Alabasta crowd cheered as Soul King began to play his new song. Princess Vivi and Mana looked on from nearby.

"How'd you hear about this guy?" the blonde café owner asked.

"Ayako recommended him in one of her letters," the Princess answered with a sad smile.

"Still miss your little assistant?" Mana inquired.

"Just because I've gotten used to preforming all my royal duties without her… doesn't mean I don't miss her," Vivi admitted.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Mana said as she patted the Princess on the back. "Anyway, that song of his is really pretty… I think I'll go find my Chocolate Bear and see if he wants to dance."

The blonde dashed off and left the Princess sitting on her own. Vivi sighed as she pulled out the letter she'd hidden in her grown and thought about the absent artist that had written it.

"_I know you'll be safe if you're with them, Ayako. But when your voyage is over I want you to come home to me and show me all the pictures you've painted of all the amazing things you've seen in the New World."_

**-Baltigo-**

Robin smiled and closed her book when she felt the wave wash over her.

"Something wonderful just happened," the archeologist informed her two companions.

"What happened, Robin?" Koala asked.

"My friends Ricky and Nami finally got together," Robin stated.

"Oh, that's nice," Sabo commented. "WAIT! WHAAAAT?"

"Oh my," Robin said, "I think he might have even proposed. I wonder if this means Nami won their Swindling War?"

The Second in Command tore out of the room. But his shouting could still be heard on the balcony. **"OI! DRAGON! I NEED TO TAKE LEAVE SO I CAN PERSONALLY BRING ROBIN BACK TO SABAODY!"**

"…" Robin and Koala shared a silent exchange.

"**WHAT DO YOU MEAN **_**'WHY'**_**? MY BROTHER JUST GOT ENGAGED! I'VE GOTTA MEET AND CONGRATULATE THE WOMAN THAT SWINDLED HIM!"**

**-Torino Kingdom-**

"Yay! Big Brother!" Chopper cheered in the library.

"What's wrong, raccoon-dog?" one of the heavy set human inhabitants of Torino asked.

"I've been telling you for _two years _I'M A REINDEER!" the doctor berated him. "And… my big brother and Nami are finally… together. And that's not all! They're going to have a wedding like in all the story books."

Chopper jumped off his chair and dashed to the bookshelf. He ignored all the medical texts and pulled out the one storybook that was on the shelf.

The reindeer opened the storybook and flipped to the last page. There the picture showed a bride and a groom kissing. Underneath the picture were the following words:

_**And they lived happily ever after. The End**_

**-x-**

There. I changed my original scene around a bit to have more of a conclusive ending.

I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you everyone that read this story.

Good bye,

QPython


End file.
